Greg Kampe - One of a Kind

Greg Kampe does a weekly radio show on WXOU, Oakland's student radio station, and the February 14th radio show is available to listen.

It's not just about Oakland Basketball, but Kampe in his capacity as interim Athletic Director covers all Oakland sports, and he is the anchor for the show, doing the interviews, etc. This week's guests included Shawn Hopes and Vova Sevarovas, two of his own players.

I listened the entire program this afternoon (it is split up into 4 separate mp3 files), and Kampe sounds like a seasoned pro behind the mike, almost as if he used to make his living there once upon a time.

But what I find most striking is how unusually genial and disarming Greg Kampe is when he's not coaching on the sidelines during a game, treating even the ordinary fan with no connections like an equal, both at games and on the radio. It almost seems reckless for a coach to interact so freely with the general public this way, but Kampe makes it work for him somehow, even to the point of having two of his own players on the show and doing his best to get them to be more talkative. It took awhile, but Hopes and Sevarovas eventually opened up and shared their thoughts about why the Grizzlies are struggling and what they need to do to make another run in Tulsa this year.

I heartily recommend giving the show a listen. Thanks to coreyh, the studio producer for posting the mp3's and providing the link on the Oakland Message Board.