BUIES CREEK, N.C. (AP) — John Andrzejek is finally done with juggling coaching duties.
Andrzejek spent nearly three weeks fitting in work as the newly named head coach at Campbell between his duties as an assistant at Florida. Now, less than 48 hours after Andrzejek made a beeline toward midcourt at the horn to celebrate the Gators' run to the national championship in San Antonio, he can finally focus solely on building the foundation for his own program.
“It's been a whirlwind,” Andrzejek told reporters Wednesday at his introductory campus news conference. "I mean, when that buzzer went off, I was just sprinting on the court looking for people to hug.
"It was a long celebration, it was seven or eight hours of hugging people. We did the Riverwalk in San Antonio, had Gator fans cheering everywhere. Came back to my phone to 700 unread texts. But quickly since we got back, I've transitioned to being the head coach here full-time and I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity."
Florida beat Houston 65-63 on Monday night, then Andrzejek joined the Gators back to Gainesville for the team's campus celebration Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, he was taking a charter flight to North Carolina to arrive at Campbell, a Coastal Athletic Association program at a private university of about 5,100 students.
The Camels have one NCAA Tournament bid in their history, a 1992 first-round loss to Duke on the way to a repeat championship.
But on Wednesday, at least, they added another tie to March Madness: their 32-year-old coach, who came armed with a strand of the clipped-down net from the title game that he held up as proof he understands what it takes to build a successful program.
The school announced Andrzejek's hiring March 20, the day before the Gators' NCAA Tournament opener in North Carolina's capital city of Raleigh. But the sides planned to wait for Andrzejek to finish the ride with the Gators for him to take over the Camels.
Florida went on to reach college basketball's biggest stage at the Final Four. That meant lots of hours switching between finishing scouting work for the Gators, then taking calls from recruits or potential staff hires with the Camels, then back to breaking down film or other tasks in Florida's title push.
It helped that he was able to hire Landry Kosmalski, a former head coach at Division III Swarthmore, to assist from afar. Kosmalski said that included Andrzejek forwarding him names of recruits to more fully research as they put together their roster-building board.
Yet as Andrzejek noted from the Florida locker room in the Alamodome, the Camels' sales pitch to recruits and fans got stronger with every win by the Gators.
“It's created a lot of energy on our campus, and a lot of support and anticipation of him coming," Campbell athletic director Hannah Bazemore said Wednesday. "And at that point, a lot of Camels turned Gators in really wanting him to be successful. I think it also helped from a recruiting standpoint for him, being able to get out there now say you've got a national championship coach calling you.
"It was something we couldn't have dreamed up any better, we couldn't have written a script any better. I think it benefitted him and it benefitted us in a tremendous way."
It has gotten the attention of the Camels players he's inheriting, too.
“It makes me excited," guard Tasos Cook said. “I want to play just how those guys were playing. It looked like they were having fun playing on court, playing together.”
Andrzejek also leaned in on Campbell's small-town vibe in Buies Creek, located about 45 minutes south of Raleigh.
He talked of growing up and baling hay in a rural town in upstate New York, describing a comfort with living here instead of "a Raleigh suburb.” And that included saying his staffers would immerse themselves in the community by being around campus, at Camels sporting events and tailgates, or at church.
He was finally clear to call it home.
“Come say hi and introduce yourselves,” Andrzejek said, promising: “We're going to make some great memories here together too.”
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Florida assistant coach John Andrzejek watches during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )
Florida guard Alijah Martin celebrates after their win against the Houston in the national championship at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 7, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Wall Street extended its gains to a ninth straight day Friday, marking the stock market’s longest winning streak since 2004 and reclaiming the ground it lost since President Donald Trump escalated his trade war in early April.
The rally was spurred by a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market and resurgent hope for a ratcheting down in the U.S. trade showdown with China.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.4%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%.
The gains were broad. Roughly 90% of stocks and every sector in the S&P 500 advanced. Technology stocks were among the companies doing the heaviest lifting. Microsoft rose 2.3% and Nvidia rose 2.5%. Apple, however, fell 3.7% after the iPhone maker estimated that tariffs will cost it $900 million.
Banks and other financial companies also made solid gains. JPMorgan Chase rose 2.3% and Visa closed 1.5% higher.
Employers added 177,000 jobs in April. That marks a slowdown in hiring from March, but it was solidly better than economists anticipated. However, the latest job figures don’t yet reflect the effects on the economy of President Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs against America’s trading partners. Many of the more severe tariffs that were supposed to go into effect in April were delayed by three months, with the notable exception of tariffs against China.
“We’ve already seen how financial markets will react if the administration moves forward with their initial tariff plan, so unless they take a different tack in July when the 90-day pause expires, we will see market action similar to the first week of April,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management.
The S&P 500 slumped 9.1% during the first week of April as Trump announced a major escalation of his trade war with more tariffs. The market has now clawed back its losses since then, helped by a string of resilient earnings reports from U.S. companies, hopes for de-escalation of trade tensions with China and expectations that the Federal Reserve will still be able to cut rates a few times this year.
The benchmark index is still down 3.3% so far this year, and 7.4% below the record it reached in February.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 82.53 points to 5,686.67. The Dow gained 564.47 points to 41,317.43, and the Nasdaq added 266.99 points to 17,977.73.
The job market is being closely watched for signs of stress amid trade war tensions. Strong employment has helped fuel solid consumer spending and economic growth over the last few years. Economists are now worried about the impact that taxes on imports will have on consumers and businesses, especially about how higher costs will hurt hiring and spending.
The economy is already showing signs of strain. The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace during the first quarter of the year. It was slowed by a surge in imports as businesses tried to get ahead of Trump’s tariffs.
The current round of tariffs and the on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s policy has overshadowed planning for businesses and households. Companies have been cutting and withdrawing financial forecasts because of the uncertainty over how much tariffs will cost them and how much they will squeeze consumers and sap spending.
Hopes remain that Trump will roll back some of his tariffs after negotiating trade deals with other countries. China has been a key target, with tariffs of 145%. Its Commerce Ministry said Beijing is evaluating overtures from the U.S. regarding the tariffs.
Investors had a relatively quiet day of earnings reports following a busy week. Exxon Mobil rose 0.4%, recovering from an early slide, after reporting its lowest first-quarter profit in years. Rival Chevron rose 1.6% after it also reported its smallest first-quarter profit in years.
Falling crude oil prices have weighed on the sector. Crude oil prices in the U.S. are down about 17% for the year. They fell below $60 per barrel this week, which is a level at which many producers can no longer turn a profit.
Block slumped 20.4% after reporting a sharp drop in first-quarter profit that fell short of analysts' forecasts. The financial technology company behind Cash App cited a pullback in consumer spending on travel and other discretionary items as a key reason for the results.
Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.22% late Thursday.
Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Rob Taylor works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Patrick King works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader James Matthews, left, and specialist James Denaro work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Glenn Carell, left, and trader Mathias Roberts, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Alex Weitzman works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Philip Finale, left, and trader Robert Charmak work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Niall Pawa works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Michael Pistillo, left, and trader Fred Demarco work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialists Meric Greenbaum, left, and Philip Finale confer on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist James Denaro works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Gregg Maloney works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
