Midconfans News 10/18/2006

Golden Grizzlies will rely on balanced offense to carry them through schedule--The Oakland Press/span>

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
OU coach Greg Kampe thinks tough schedule will benefit team
By CRYSTAL EVOLA Of The Oakland Press


ROCHESTER — Ambitious is one way to describe Greg Kampe’s thought process when he put together this season’s men’s basketball schedule.
Foolish might be another.
The longtime Oakland University coach has concocted a schedule for the 2006-07 campaign that makes a Big Ten campaign look like a cakewalk.
In Kampe’s attempt to gain respect among the “big boys” and to get some attention from future recruits, he has drawn up what is by far Oakland’s toughest challenge so far as a Division I program.
The list of opponents looks even more daunting considering the Grizzlies will learn to adjust to life without last season’s leading scorer, Calvin Wooten.
Wooten fell short of the credit requirements as a senior and was ruled academically ineligible to compete this season.
Wooten led the team with 33.2 minutes and 19.2 points per game. He also had a team high 49 steals and 65 assists last season as a transfer player from Rutgers University.
This uphill battle is designed with one thing in mind: To win the Mid-Continent Conference tournament to get that automatic bid into the NCAA dance.
“This is harder than any schedule we’ve had,” Kampe said. “Is it too hard? It might be. Do I recognize that? Yes, but the reality of it is our kids want to play those teams.
“Did I go overboard? I would sit here in October and say, ‘Yes, I went overboard.’ Will we regret this? I don’t know. I hope not. I think my biggest fear is making these guys understand how difficult the first few months will be and the bottom line is the goal is to win those three days in March.”
Oakland’s non-conference schedule includes road games against teams including UMass, Pitt, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Arkansas, UCLA and Marquette.
UCLA made it all the way to the NCAA Tournament championship game. Arkansas, Pitt and MSU were tournament teams.
The Grizzlies went 11-18 last season and the nonconference schedule only included teams like St. Louis, Marquette, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Missouri.
“We have to be very mentally tough,” Kampe said. “Hopefully, we’re going to win that battle and everything’s going to be good. The other thing is, I think we’ve got enough talent that we might be able to win one or two of those games.”
Kampe is confident that returning players like center Shawn Hopes, guard Rick Billings, forward Vova Severovas and guard Brandon Cassise and newcomers like Keith Benson and Jonathon Jones will get a chance to spread around the minutes and offense that Wooten once contributed.
“This is going to be an old-fashioned, Greg Kampe Oakland team,” Kampe said. “We’re going to have the ability to shoot the 3, and we’re going to have a lot of different guys that we’re going to depend on. The last couple years it’s been if Mike (Helms) doesn’t score tonight we could lose or if Rawle (Marshall) doesn’t do this or if Cortney (Scott) doesn’t do that and Cal doesn’t do that we’re going to lose this game.
“If Shawn doesn’t score then Vova will. If Vova doesn’t score Rick will. If Rick doesn’t score than (Erik) Kangas is going to make some shots and Cassise’s going to score. ... We’ve got multiple people. ... It reminds me of what we were in the late Division II days and those early Division I teams.”
Oakland started its first full-squad team practices this week.
On the bright side, it’s almost like a bulk of the basic fundamental work is already done considering the Grizzlies competed in a Canada trip in September.
“We’re really now reviewing all our defensive (changes) and working on our offense,” Kampe said. “It was great for that.”
They need all the help they can get at this point.