Twelve years after the NCAA wiped out the Minutemen's one shining moment, the Final Four banner still hangs in the Mullins Center rafters in Amherst and the school recognized Camby during its centennial celebration this season.
"It is tough to talk about it because of where I am now," said Camby, whose Clippers visit the Celtics tonight. "I was a boy then. I am a man now."
Camby became UMass's first national player of the year in 1996 after averaging 20.5 points and 8.2 rebounds during his junior season. The Minutemen defeated Central Florida, Stanford, Arkansas, and Georgetown en route to the '96 Final Four. The Wildcats of Kentucky ended the best season in UMass history with an 81-74 semifinal win.
With Camby and coach John Calipari leading the way, UMass was viewed as one of the nation's premier programs.
Camby brought further acclaim to the program by being selected second overall in the 1996 draft by Toronto.
"That's the greatest time in UMass basketball history," said Minutemen coach Derek Kellogg, a four-year letterwinner (1991-95). "I talk about it all the time. I talk to my players about it. At that time at UMass, we were talked about in the same breath with [the nation's top programs]."
Athletic director John McCutcheon, who came to UMass in 2004, said, "Marcus brought UMass to a national prominence that it had never been to before. He had the ability to create media interest and exposure. It put us on a higher level.
"Without him, could Coach Cal taking the team to the Final Four have been possible? We had other players and Coach Cal. But to a man they say that without Marcus it doesn't happen."
Yet in 1997, the NCAA imposed its penalties on Camby and the school; UMass also was forced to return the $151,000 it earned from the tournament and its Final Four trophy. Under NCAA rules, an athlete may not accept money, gifts, or any other benefit from an agent.
A remorseful Camby reportedly gave back $28,000 to one agent and reimbursed the school for the $151,000 by splitting the money between education and health services programs. Despite Camby's gesture, the NCAA didn't reinstate the wins.
