Star hoops player, his coach dad leaving Puyallup High for prep academy over COVID shutdowns
Scott Campbell has been the head boys basketball coach at Puyallup the past 13 years. His 2019-20 Vikings team is coming off winning the Class 4A South Puget Sound League title. His son, Cobi, was the team’s top player last year, and was a first-team all-league selection, averaging 19.2 points per game as a junior.
Campbell is also a physical education teacher at Puyallup High. His younger son, Cooper, was slated to join the Puyallup High School basketball team as a freshman this year. In short, there was no reason for Campbell to leave the Puyallup High coaching job he’s held for over a decade, under ordinary circumstances.
But this year has been anything but normal.
“If you asked me nine months ago — ‘Are you anticipating a coaching change? — I probably would have laughed,” Campbell said.
In a Twitter post, Campbell announced Monday he’s stepping down from his coaching position. He confirmed to The News Tribune he’s taking the job as a coach for Elite Prep Academy, a private program in Issaquah. Cobi will leave Puyallup to play for the team and Cooper will play for his dad, also.
“The covid pandemic has changed a lot of things,” Campbell said. “My most anticipated season as a high school basketball coach was this current season. The opportunity to coach both of my boys, with a league championship team coming back and a lot of anticipation for this year, just getting to experience this season with that group was something I was really looking forward to.”
The pandemic has put a stop to everything. The high school basketball season, which normally is underway at this point in December, has been pushed to February by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. Even then, there’s no guarantee the season will start on time, and if it does, what it will look like and how smoothly it will occur.
Already, Taki Uluilakepa, Puyallup’s third-leading scorer from last year’s league championship team, packed his bags and moved to Utah with his family so he could play high school basketball. Now the team will be without its leading scorer and one of the state’s top returning players in Cobi.
Cobi, a first-team all-league selection a season ago, as well as a first-team selection to The News Tribune’s 2019 All-Area team, is widely regarded as one of one of the state’s top returning players.
So far, the offers haven’t come for Campbell, who missed the spring and summer after his sophomore high school season — which generally would be a key window for basketball players to receiving recruiting exposure — with injuries. Then, coming off a strong junior campaign, Campbell hasn’t been able to showcase his skills live, with the pandemic shutting everything down. That makes two consecutive offseasons in which Campbell hasn’t been able to play in front of scouts.
Playing for Elite Prep will change that. The program houses a school on its campus and transitions upperclassmen into taking college classes through the Running Start program. Its team plays a national schedule roughly between September and March, playing in tournaments all over the country, most often on the East Coast. The school and its program are not affiliated with the WIAA.
“It’s a great situation for Cobi to continue to play,” Campbell said. “The big thing for him is getting a chance to play during live evaluation periods. He hasn’t been able to do that the last two years due to injury and the COVID shutdown. Schools have been wanting to see him play live.”
With the NCAA granting college seniors an extra year of eligibility in 2021-22, the high school class of 2021 has seen the biggest impact. Open scholarships have suddenly dried up.
“It’s created a real logjam for the 2021 kids,” Campbell said. “There’s not going to be the typical cycle of seniors leaving, scholarship opportunities opening up.”
Playing for the prep school will give Cobi Campbell the chance to play as a post-grad player, if he wants to, during the 2021-22 school year.
“I think one of the things that was a great fit for Cobi with the prep school was the opportunity to give him another year, just like all the college athletes are getting,” Campbell said. “He’s not having to start his NCAA clock. He can play a prep year and continue to compete. … I think it takes a lot of the rush and pressure off of trying to force a situation when nobody knows what this spring and summer is going to look like.”
Puyallup’s coach said he’s grown frustrated not seeing his kids having opportunities to play sports, as Washington has kept most kids out of school and in-person learning opportunities.
“I have friends that are coaching and doing things in different states that are open,” Campbell said. “Teams and kids are playing. I don’t know that anybody has all the answers. I tend to lean toward not seeing lots of evidence that high school athletics and kids that are participating in those being a major source of spread of the virus. … It’s frustrating to see other states and other kids having opportunities to play.”
Campbell said he’s leaving the Puyallup program on good terms. There’s no ill-will or anything of that nature — just a dad trying to give his kids the best possible chance for their athletic careers.
“There’s zero negativity in this decision,” Campbell said. “Our administration is great, our community is great. I’ve loved coaching at Puyallup. I’ve really enjoyed the players and families. It’s been a great experience for the last 13 years. ... I felt like I needed to be a dad in making this decision and really look at what’s the best opportunity and situation for my kids and their basketball interests.”
Puyallup High School athletic director Kelly Susee said Campbell is leaving the program on “great terms,” and that it’s tough to see him go.
“Obviously, Scott has been passionate about basketball here,” Susee said. “He does great things, not just with the high school, but with (feeder program) Viking Elite. To make ties with the community in basketball has been wonderful. He’s walking away on great terms. No questions, issues, nothing. That’s how you want to go out. “
Susee said he understands and is supportive of Campbell’s desire to put his kids first.
“If you can’t do it for your own family, your perspective is a little skewed,” Susee said. “He’s had a pretty long tenure and it’s been good. I think the unwritten rules about your ability to work out of season, build your program, help kids in your community, junior high, elementary, he’s done that. That’s going to be tough for someone to replace. We’re saddened that he’s leaving but totally understand.”
Susee said with uncertainty continuing to loom over high school athletics, Puyallup will be filling the position with the understanding it will be a one-year, interim hire, before beginning a more thorough search for a full-time head coach for the program going forward in 2021-22.
