Versatility Is the Calling Card for Cal Guard DJ Campbell

Golden Bears open their men's basketball season on Monday with a new roster

DJ Campbell / Courtesy of Cal Athletics

At a Cal practice filled with unfamiliar faces, it's easy to pick out DJ Campbell. He's the one wearing the Ja Morant Mismatch sneakers -- one orange, the other light green.

Will he wear the eye-catching, contrasting-color sneakers in the Bears' season oopener on Monday against Cal State Bakersfield?

"Maybe," he said. "I like to switch it up a lot."

Campbell likes to present a number of looks, which suits his basketball persona of a player who can fill a lot of different roles.

Coach Mark Madsen said the 6-foot-2 Campbell can play point guard, off-guard and small forward.

And, get this, "If we go small," said Madsen, "he can guard fours because of his strength."

Wait a minute, a guy who is probably stretching his height a bit to claim he's 6-foot-2 is going to guard an opposing power forward who might be 6-foot-9, 230 pounds?

"Yes, that's possible," Campbell.

Campbell is not a player defined by a position; he's just a basketball player. A lot of players on this brand-new Cal roster are just basketball players with no specific position. Campbell shot 52.9 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from three-point range last season, but Madsen says he can post up on the block as well.

This is how Campbell described his role:

"To be a scorer on offense, to facilitate and be a leader on offensive and defensive side," he said.

At this point it's hard to determine what Cal's starting lineup will be on Monday. Grand Canyon transfer and Oakland native Jovan Blacksher Jr. is expected to be the starting point guard and Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic is likely to be one wing player, with Michigan State transfer Mady Sissoko expected to be the Bears' big man in the middle.

The final two starting spots are likely to come from among the trio of Air Force transfer Rytis Petraitis, North Dakota transfer BJ Omot and Minnesota transfer Joshua Ola-Joseph. But Madsen said the starting lineup could change depending on the opponent as he mixes and matches based on the needs of that game and the performances early in the season.

Madsen said he could play as many as 11 players in a given game, saying the depth of this season's Cal squad is the biggest difference from his 2023-24 group, which went 13-19 overall and 9-11 in the Pac-12 with six players seeing the majority of the playing time.

Those six players are gone, replaced by another group of transfers.

Campbell may not be a starter in the opener, but he will get signficant playing time. And Madsen says he adds to the team with his mere presence.

"DJ Campbell is the ultimate competitor," Madsen said. "Whenever he walks into the gym, he elevates the energy."

Campbell comes to Cal after spending the past two seasons at Western Carolina, which is tucked away in tiny Cullowhee, North Carolina (population 6,700), in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a little different from Berkeley.

So how did guy from Hampton, Virginia, who attended a college in the western part of North Carolina wind up in Berkeley?

"I felt it was the best opportunity for me," he said.

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