Billy Campion was the “giant in the middle” for the Manhattan teams that made three consecutive NIT appearances in the mid-70s.  The Jaspers’ all-time leader for rebounds in a game (30), season (419) and career (1,070), he’s one of just two players in program history with 1,000 points and 1,000 boards.  He tallied 1,223 points in just 74 career games, an average of 16.5 per contest.  Campion pulled down 15.5 rebounds per game in 1973-74, and averaged 14.5 boards per contest during his career.  In 1972-73, he won the Haggerty Award after becoming the first player in program history to grab 400 rebounds in a season (402).  Campion then broke that record with 416 caroms as a senior.  A team captain that season, he led the Jaspers to their third straight NIT berth and a first-round win over UMass.  Manhattan reached the postseason during all three seasons Campion was a member of the varsity squad.  Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the fourth round of the 1975 NBA Draft, he instead played professionally in Italy before joining the Washington Generals.  Campion was elected to the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.