How Chuck Campbell's Johnson squad fed off his energy to reach state basketball finals

Chuck Campbell is a basketball coach who never holds back when it comes to his fiery courtside demeanor — and his Johnson team has flourished when it has counted most this year under its leader's distinctive style.

Johnson, which entered the playoffs unranked among Class 3A teams in Georgia by Sandysspiel.com, has fought its way into the state championship game. The Atom Smashers (20-11) will face off with No. 1 Sandy Creek (26-3) on Friday, March 8, with tipoff set for 3 p.m. at the Macon Centreplex.

Campbell fell in love with the game in one of the cradles of basketball — New York City's Harlem. He was a standout point guard at Rice High School, a powerhouse program that has produced a host of well-known players including Kemba Walker.

"I grew up playing a fast-paced game, we were playing man-to-man defense when we were like 9 years old," said Campbell, 48. "And you learned to play the game the correct way — with hard-nosed defense from start to finish."

Campbell grew up in a tight-knit hoops community and one of his best friends is God Shammgod, formerly known as Shammgod Wells, who played at Providence and in the NBA and Europe, before becoming a player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks. The friends are still in close contact. Campbell said he'll have a group of Harlem friends and family in Macon for the state championship game.

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"I still remember the impact my little league coaches had on me in Harlem," said Campbell, who walked on at Savannah State, where he earned his college degree. "I had guys like Thurmon Player and Tone and Rock Rosa. Those three coaches played a big role in who I am today. I got my animation from Coach Player and my toughness, grit and heart from Coach Tone and Coach Rock."

Campbell was an assistant coach at Jenkins under Bakari Bryant from 2016-2018 during a run that included a pair of state runner-up finishes. He took over at Johnson after local legend Utaff Gordon, who led the Atom Smashers to a state crown in 2013, stepped down in 2020. In his first three seasons leading Johnson, Campbell's squad was knocked out in the state quarterfinals. Last year, the Atom Smashers' season ended in an Elite Eight loss to Sandy Creek, which went on to win the title.

"It's different being a head coach," Campbell said. "When you're an assistant, you play the role of a good cop. But you have to be the bad cop as the head coach. I don't look at it like I'm coaching a basketball team, but I think of it as leading a basketball program."

Campbell's players love him as a coach and a person, and they leave it all on the floor for their leader.

"It's a great experience playing for Coach Campbell," said Josh Quarterman, the senior guard who was named the Region 3-3A Player of the Year. "He not only helped me become a better basketball player, but I became a better me because of the way he guides me through everything. He has a very intense coaching style and he's like having another father. He can be cool at times, but he also teaches us about discipline."

Senior point guard Cormari Jones has worked closely with Campbell, who always emphasizes the play at the point.

"Coach Campbell always worked to give us the best opportunity to win," Jones said. "He's a good coach who is open to our ideas. He listens to us, but there's a lot of discipline and we always listen to him. He's a coach that knows how to motivate his players. We feed off his energy. We know he wants to win as much as we do, if not more."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Johnson basketball team in GHSA finals behind Coach Chuck Campbell