Camels getting my attention

WOERNER’S CORNER

Camels Welcome In The Corner
I have to admit something right off the top this week and that is I am guilty of animal neglect. Now that I have gotten the attention of the PETA types of the world, let me note that it is not dogs, cats or horses but Camels about which I have seem to forgotten.

I was sorry to read a release this week that the Fighting Camels of Campbell University played their last men’s home game. That means I wrote a column every week during the basketball season without mentioning a team doing something neither the Tarheels nor Wolfpack have thought about, winning their conference regular season title. It means I didn’t get a chance to see the Atlantic Sun’s fourth leading scorer, Jonathan Rodriguez.

It means I didn’t do something I have wanted to do for a long time, join the 3,000-plus people who have flocked to the Gore Arena to watch Camels games at differenttimes this year. There is one saving grace and that is the season’s not over yet. Campbell is in the middle of a sixgame winning streak and recently won four games in eight days. Those numbers are impressive in any arena, at any level.

It is time for me to do better. Coach Robbie Laing has my commitment. The Camels have the full attention of The Corner for the rest of the year.

I will give the Atlantic Sun Conference my attention as the post season comes upon us. I will pull hard for the Camels in their conference tournament as that is likely the only way they will make the NCAA tournament. I don’t have to worry about them playing my usual favorites. The story of the Wolfpack is obvious. When it comes to basketball, East Carolina has trouble competing with some high schools in some years.

This could be the year Campbell makes a statement on the national scene. The Camels lost in the first round several years ago when they were seeded last and played a top-seeded team.

This year they will likely be higher ranked because of their record. That is why the final games and the conference tournament are so important. Simply translated, a better record means an easier game in the first round. Teams seeded in the last place position have never won a first round game but those in the positions only slightly higher on the ladder have pulled off upsets throughout the tournament’s history.

There is an argument to made that Campbell has the best team of the three when putting them in the same boat with Roy Williams or Sidney Lowe’s squads in Chapel Hill and Raleigh.

Folks in Buies Creek would probably pay big bucks to see their team take on either one of those two this year. I admit I would love to be on press row for one of those games.

I am ashamed to say this is the first time I have mentioned the Camels in my writings this year but I look forward to more coverage in the near future. Let’s get out the orange and black and pull hard for the boys from the Creek.