Nov. 13, 2008

By: Jim Judge, OU Media Relations Department Contributor

GREAT EXPECTATIONS is an 1860 novel written by Charles Dickens; not quite as well known as Dickens' The Christmas Carol. The title also reflects the profile of the 2008-09 Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team at Oakland University. I mean Coach Greg Kampe, starting his 25th season at the helm, and five returning starters from last year's (17-14) squad are solid building blocks. You combine that with what Kampe calls a "great recruiting class" that will "learn and take their turn," and you have the makings of a strong contender to win The Summit League. The pundits pick them to finish third behind Oral Roberts and North Dakota State. Ironically, Oakland beat NDSU both times they played last year; albeit by a total of five points.

This year's Grizzlies step out of the conference early and often as the go against teams from the Pac-10 (Oregon), the BIG EAST (Syracuse), the MAC (Toledo and Eastern Michigan) and the Big Ten (Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State). The latter two opponents will be played at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the Christmas holidays. Coach Kampe calls the home of the Detroit Pistons, "the best basketball venue in the world" and Oakland has a perfect 2-0 record there. The games there will be of special interest to fans in the area that are anxious to see Michigan's retooled program under second year head coach John Beilein and Tom Izzo's MSU Spartans that AP has ranked sixth in their preseason Division I college basketball poll. Kampe called these games "huge" for recruiting purposes.

Speaking of recruiting, this year's incoming players (6) include five freshmen and junior Larry Wright; a transfer from St. John's University who was all-state in Michigan at Saginaw High School. Vying with Wright for back court playing time are two big freshmen; Blake Cushingberry (6-4, 225) from Romeo and Drew Maynard (6-7, 220) from Lake Orion. The freshman center is Ilija Milutinovic (7-0, 255) comes from Serbia via Milestone Christian Academy. He turned down professional money in Europe to play college basketball in the United States. Freshman Matt Samuels (6-0, 215) is from Washington, D.C. and brings depth to the point guard position. The coaching staff believes this group can bring more depth which translates into fresh legs and better numbers for the starters.

Those starters have seen very competitive practices with the biggest improvement coming on the defensive side of the ball. In the coming season, the three-point shooting circle has been moved back one foot. The players and Coach Kampe acknowledged that it will not affect the good shooters, but will open up play "in the paint" and spread out the defense. Johnathon Jones, a 5 foot, 11 inch junior leads the offense and is touted as a preseason All-Summit League candidate and Mid-Major All-American (Collegeinsider.com). Last year, he averaged 14.9 points a game; a 5.5 point increase from his freshman year. Erik Kangas, a senior from Dewitt, will also be in the Grizzlies back court and had a .397 shooting percentage on three-point shots last season. Other starters on the frontline include seniors Derrick Nelson (1106 career points) and center Dan Waterstradt; a co-captain who finished 19th in rebounds in The Summit League.

There are only four active coaches in NCAA Division I basketball that have more coaching seasons than Greg Kampe with 25 years at the helm at Oakland University. The 53 year old native of Defiance, Ohio and a graduate of Bowling Green University (BS) and Toledo University (MS), is synonymous with this strong program. By the time that Oakland arrives at the O'Rena on campus on December 7th (prophetic), for the first home game we will have a much better understanding about the talent and capability of this year's squad that looks so very good on paper. Why? Because by that time they will have played nine road games with stops in Ohio, Oregon, New York (Syracuse in the Carrier dome), Las Vegas, two trips to Kansas, Iowa and Utah. Let's hope the boys and the supporting coaches and staff doesn't get homesick.

Let's go Golden Grizzlies.

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