Jaden Campbell: The Path Back To Canada For The Elite Basketball Player – 13th Man Sports

Jaden Campbell, of the Scarborough Shooting Stars

The opportunity to play professional basketball in Canada is a unique opportunity, and Jaden Campbell seized that chance when he signed with the Scarborough Shooting Stars on May 6. The Brampton native played two seasons at Florida SouthWestern State College before transferring to Samford University. 

The familiarity between himself and the team members made it an enticing option for the 6-foot-5 guard. 

“I know one of the coaches, Mike De Giorgio, who was one of my AU coaches with UPlay Canada for Nike 17U.”

De Giorgio is an assistant coach for the team, in addition to his assistant coaching and summer camp director role with the Toronto Varsity Blues of the OUA. 

Campbell was not only enticed by the winning culture of the organization, but by the recruits that were added to the program.

“I played with Danilo (Djuricic) when I played Basketball for the first time. We started off in AU when we were younger. I played with Shamar (Givance) in the summers, so I’m pretty familiar with those two.”

Campbell is a threat for the triple, shooting 60% through 2 games this season. In his final year with Samford, he shot 47.9% in 33 games with the team, which allowed him to start for 25 of those appearances. He credits Samford Assistant Coach Neb Exantus for working with him in the summer of 2023 for elevating his game in his final NCAA season. 

“Just staying in the gym, and working on my reps. I work on different three-point shooting, different mid-ranges, to hone my skillset.”

Campbell is a team-first player, and instilled that by noting his goal for the season is to help the team win another championship. “I want to do what I can do best to help, which  is shooting and making plays. Whatever the coaching staff needs me to do, I will do it.”

Scarborough’s season continues Wednesday May 29th in Calgary as the Calgary Surge (0-1) host the Shooting Stars (0-2) at WinSport Event Centre at 9:00pm