Paul Campbell is not home for the holidays, and that's a good thing for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

Three weeks ago, Campbell contemplated leaving the Rainbow Warriors so he could return home to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

This week, Campbell is battling for a starting position.

"I'm just playing with a lot more confidence," said Campbell, a 6-foot-10 junior center. "The first couple of games, my head wasn't into it. I wasn't getting playing time and I wasn't sure what my role with the team was. I thought about (leaving) for a little bit."

Before the team's road trip to Illinois, Campbell said he had long talks with Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash and assistant coach Larry Farmer.

They convinced him to stay.

"I'm good to go now," Campbell said. "Coach Farmer was a big help. I sat down with him and watched film. He showed me what I was capable of, and told me I could help this team."

Nash said: "I assured him that if he continued to make progress in practice, he was going to play in games. He just needed to give us a reason to keep him on the floor."

Campbell responded with six points on 3-of-3 shooting in the loss at Illinois. He also grabbed two rebounds in his eight minutes off the bench.

"He responded," Nash said.

In his last three games as the back-up center, Campbell has a total of 11 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. In his four previous games, he had zero points and four rebounds.

His strength is his defense, and his five blocked shots this season is second on the team.

"When you block a shot, it's good for the whole team," he said. "You can start a (fast) break, and the crowd really gets into it. It gets me hyped."

Hawai'i is in the midst of an eight-day break between games. During that time, Campbell has been practicing with the first team because starting forward Bill Amis has been out with a knee injury.

"I never want to see a guy on my team get hurt," Campbell said. "But I have to get on the court any way I can, so I have to take advantage of this."

The 'Bows are scheduled to host UC Riverside on Tuesday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

With his game rejuvenated, Campbell said the only thing he misses about Toronto is the snow.

"When you see all the snow, you know it's Christmas time," he said. "Here, I have to keep reminding myself that it's only a couple days away."

NOTES

Starting forwards Bill Amis (knee) and Adhar Mayen (finger) did not practice yesterday. Reserves Adam Jespersen (concussion) and Ji Xiang (concussion) also sat out. Nash said he expects all those players to be available for Tuesday's game.