Former Clemson basketball star Elden Campbell celebrated at memorial service
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CLEMSON — Former Clemson basketball forward Jerry Pryor remembers when he found out about Elden Campbell's death.
Pryor was among many Clemson alumni who attended Campbell's memorial service on Jan. 16 at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Center ballroom. Campbell, Clemson's all-time leading scorer, died on Dec. 1 after suffering a medical emergency while fishing in Florida and drowned. He was 57.
Pryor, who played at Clemson from 1985-86 through 1988-89, said he was at Campbell's home waiting for him to return from fishing. As hours passed, he grew concerned and recalled hearing a knock on the door at 10:45 p.m.
Knowing it wasn't Campbell, he opened the door to see a police detective. Before the investigator could say anything, Pryor interjected.
"I asked him, this is exactly what I said everybody, 'Tell me my brother is not dead,' " Pryor said Jan. 16. "He said, 'I'm sorry, He's gone.' I fell to my knees."
Pryor paused in front of his former teammates and coaches, Campbell's wife and two of his children, and Clemson administrators and fans. He got choked up and fought to contain his tears.
Many of the mourners told stories about Campbell and shared wisdom about life after his death.
How Elden Campbell's teammates, coaches remembered him
Dale Davis, Clemson basketball forward
Davis was Campbell's teammate for three seasons at Clemson. They were college roommates for years, where Campbell, who was from Los Angeles, introduced him to ramen noodles with butter and wine.
Davis recalled attending a Georgia State-Clemson game when he was getting recruited as a senior. He remembered his brother getting tangled up with Campbell, who knocked him to the ground after an elbow hit him. Davis said this prompted his mom to go on the court to check on her son, and it also helped Davis realize he was going to go to Clemson.
Cliff Ellis, Clemson basketball coach
Cliff Ellis coached at Clemson from 1984 through 1994 and Campbell for his four seasons. Ellis recalled him running like a gazelle and playing basketball "easy" like his nickname: "Big Easy."
One of his memories is about Elden Campbell's father, Charles Campbell, in the 1986-87 season. Ellis was giving a speech in the locker room, where he was yelling at his players to motivate them. He thought the locker room was closed, but caught Charles Campbell's presence.
"He says, 'Coach, don't you worry about Charles and Betty Campbell. We brought him here (to Clemson). We allowed him to come here, so he could become a man," Ellis said Jan. 16.
Ricky Jones, Clemson basketball forward
Ricky Jones, who played with Elden Campbell for four seasons at Clemson, remembered taking him and his teammates to his mother's house. Jones graduated from Pendleton High School, just six miles away from campus, so his mom would request them to come over and eat.
Jones also recalled when Campbell helped out when Jones' son died. Campbell asked if he needed anything, and Jones said a headstone. Campbell sent him a check to cover the cost.
Elden Campbell's Clemson basketball career
Campbell finished his Clemson career with 1,880 points. He is first in career made field goals (754); tied for first in career double-figure scoring games (97); second in blocked shots (334); third in 20-point scoring games (34), seventh in made free throws (369) and eighth in career rebounds (836).
Campbell, who joined the Tigers in 1986-87, was Horace Grant's backup center as the team went 25-6 and made the NCAA tournament.
As a sophomore, he stepped into the starting lineup and averaged a career-best 18.8 points and was a third-team All-ACC selection.
Campbell was second-team All-ACC as a junior, averaging a team-best 17.5 points as the Tigers reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.
In his final season, he teamed with Davis to give Clemson one of the top frontcourt combinations in college basketball. Both were named honorable mention All-American by The Associated Press, the only time Clemson has had two All-Americans on the same team.
Campbell led the 1989-90 Tigers in scoring with a 16.4 average. They won the ACC regular-season championship for the only time in school history, finished 26-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Elden Campbell's NBA career with Lakers, Hornets, Pistons
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Campbell in the first round of the 1990 draft, No. 27 overall. He played for the Lakers for nine years and is third in team history in blocked shots, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.
Campbell went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA. Two of those were with the Detroit Pistons, including the NBA championship team of 2003-04.
He retired at the end of the 2004-05 season, with a career 10,805 points, 6,116 rebounds and 1,602 blocked shots.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Elden Campbell memorial, how Clemson basketball star was remembered
