Sports Stars is an honor given out by the Idaho Press seasonally to recognize the top athletes in each sport. We conclude our release of the winners for the winter sports with the Boys Basketball Athlete of the Year.
After he stepped foot in Idaho his sophomore year, Owyhee senior Liam Campbell quickly became one of the premier talents on the court. He moved to the Treasure Valley the same year Owyhee High School opened its doors.
He ended his high school career the same way he started it — winning a state championship.
For his performance this season, Campbell was named the Idaho Press 2023-24 Boys Basketball Sports Stars Athlete of the Year. It’s the third-straight year he has been the standout boys basketball player in the Treasure Valley.
He was the best player on the best team in the state. The Storm finished the year 24-3, but the three losses came from schools outside of Idaho. They were rarely tested in Idaho, going 21-0 in the state with only one game decided by less than 10 points. Campbell was the Storm’s leading scorer at 16.8 points per game.
“It’s so special to be a part of this program because this is a winning program,” Campbell said. “Every day, you’re being pushed in practice and you’re being pushed on and off the court. It’s great to be a part of a school that backs basketball. Having the community behind me. It’s been great to win these past couple years.”
This past season was arguably better than their 2021-22 team. It was bound to be a successful season with the additions of junior Boden Howell and sophomore Logan Haustveit. Howell came in from Oregon, where he was an all-state player and set his high school’s single-game scoring record. Hasutveit was a first team all-state player with Mountain View as a freshman.
Having that extra level of competition each day created a winning environment that no other team in the state could match.
“We bought in super well,” Campbell said. “We had a lot of chemistry and the best part is we’re going against each other in practice. A lot of high schools don’t have a great level of guys to go against in practice. It benefited everyone on the team.”
Campbell’s scoring dipped a bit from season, down from 20 points per game, but that’s because there were so many mouths to feed on a high-scoring Storm offense. The 6-foot-5 guard maintained his high efficiency from the floor, shooting 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range.
But there was a moment in his high school tenure when prep school became an option for him. Going to a prep school would have further prepared him for college in both academics and athletics. But he never gave it much thought, electing to stay with the Storm and expanding his horizons through Owyhee.
“I never really thought it was the best option for me because I’m getting everything I want here,” Campbell said. “There’s no need to branch off. I got such great recruitment from going to Owyhee and playing in these big tournaments. That’s a thing that attracts a lot of people.”
Owyhee right away made a name for themselves in Idaho under the direction of head coach Andy Harrington. Campbell enjoyed playing under Harrington because of his no-nonsense coaching style.
“One thing I loved about Andy was he was not your friend,” Campbell said. “He’s here to push you. He’s not here to tell you it’s gonna be ok. He’s here to push you and make you become the best basketball player, best person on and off the court.”
He got the exposure he wanted with the Storm, competing across state lines against better competition. He eventually rose to top-100 recruit status, rated as a four-star prospect in the class of 2024 per ESPN’s recruiting database.
Campbell is already experiencing the rampant movement of the college basketball world. He was signed to play for USC — returning to his home state — next year, but requested a release from his National Letter of Intent Wednesday and is reopening his recruitment. This move comes in the wake of former USC head coach Andy Enfield taking the same job at SMU, which was announced Monday. Enfield had been at the school for 11 seasons.
Recruits are allowed to request a release from their NLI when a sudden coaching change happens. USC announced Thursday they are hiring Eric Musselman, the former head coach at Arkansas, to be their new head coach.
Campbell said in an interview with 247 Sports that he hopes to make a decision by next month.
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