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"I liked everything about it. There was nothing I didn't like," Campbell said of her visit to the Piscataway campus last week.
The 6-foot-1 Campbell, the Trentonian Player of the Year after she led the Irish to a 26-1 record and another CVC division title last winter, made visits to Rutgers, Virginia and North Carolina State before deciding to join up with the Big East power that reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament two seasons ago.
Campbell said the proximity of Rutgers campus to her Lawrence Township home played some part in her decision, as did the fact the Lady Knights are the premier women's team in the state.
Campbell said she looked for several things from the college she would ultimately pick, although a nationally-ranked program wasn't a major concern.
Rutgers fit all her wants.
A two-time first-team all-star in the CVC, Campbell led the league in scoring last year with a 21.3 average. She also averaged 17.7 as a sophomore, and will start her senior season with 1,144 career points, seventh alltime in ND girls history.
She said she made an early decision on which college she would attend "because I wanted to concentrate on my senior season. I didn't want any distraction," she said.
Although Campbell says she had not met Stringer prior to her visit to Rutgers she did have something in common with the Lady Knights coach. Campbell grew up in Iowa and Stringer coached at the University of Iowa before moving to Rutgers.
Rutgers assistant Larry Lawler is a graduate of Northern Iowa University, the same school Michelle's dad Mel attended and also played college football for.
Ranked as the No. 1 post player in high school girls basketball heading into the 2001-02 season, Campbell was a unanimous pick on She will head into her senior season as the No. 1 player in New Jersey girls hoops, and a top candidate for the High School All-American first team.
