Kampe paces, but Oakland's fate...

[IE]

Kampe paces, but Oakland's fate is worth the wait

March 14, 2005


The players sat in chairs waiting as the excitement built. More than 400 fans stood behind them, mingling Sunday afternoon at the Oakland Athletics Center.

And Oakland University coach Greg Kampe, who has watched the NCAA selection show for years but never had a stake in the picks, worked off his nervousness by pacing on the basketball court.

Then finally, after yet another commercial break on the CBS broadcast -- which featured a regional ad for OU -- the Golden Grizzlies got the news they were waiting for. Oakland (12-18) will take on Alabama A&M (18-13) in the Tuesday play-in game at 7 p.m. at Dayton, Ohio.

"It was starting to take too long for me," Kampe said. "I thought we'd be the first one announced -- I thought 6 p.m. would be the play-in game. So when it didn't happen until 6:30, I started pacing."

It was quite a wait for that automatic bid, which the Golden Grizzlies received for winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament last Tuesday.

"I didn't know," Kampe said, smiling. "You never know in this world what could happen."

The winner of the play-in game will advance to meet No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday afternoon in the first round at Charlotte, N.C.

"To see your name come up and then to play North Carolina," said OU president Gary Russi, "it's a special honor and a special opportunity."

Oakland fans, cheerleaders and the school band were on hand to share in the honor Sunday. There was free food and drink at the Athletics Center.

And with Dayton just 240 miles from the Rochester campus, the Grizzlies hope those supporters can give them a sort of home-court advantage.

"I'm hoping it's a big advantage, and that's one of the reasons we wanted that game," Kampe said. "With our students at this university, we're building a reputation here we're trying to do something special and that gives them a chance to go.

"If we had been in Albuquerque, something like that, it wouldn't be the same. But now they can get on a bus and go and cheer their team."

Those buses will leave Oakland at 11 a.m. Tuesday, and the school plans to accommodate as many people as there are reservations.

While most schools would cringe at the thought of being selected for the play-in game two days before the tournament officially begins, Oakland is embracing it.

OU paid $2,500 for that TV advertisement and will buy more ads throughout the tournament telecasts. This is a shot at national exposure -- the past week has done wonders to show the country the school is nowhere near California -- and Oakland plans to capitalize in every way possible.

The team will travel to Dayton this morning and practice at the arena at 7 tonight.

So the Grizzlies have little time to rest before the game, but they used the time before the selection show to rest and to prepare for the matchup they expected. Some of the Grizzlies watched Alabama A&M in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game early Sunday afternoon.

"It's a tough team, they're an up-and-down type team," forward Cortney Scott said. "We'll have to try and slow them down a little bit. They get up and down the floor real well."

Senior forward Rawle Marshall didn't watch the SWAC game but was a bit more optimistic.

"We have DeMarcus Ishmeal, the one-man press-break," Marshall said.

Those thoughts will be enough to keep Kampe pacing, on the bus, in the hotel and everywhere else until tip-off Tuesday.

 

[IE]

How 'bout our Dogs!
A&M wins league title, opens NCAA Tourney Tuesday



There was no wild celebration late Sunday afternoon.

That had taken place a few hours earlier in Birmingham, after Obie Trotter scored 24 points to lead Alabama A&M University past Alabama State University 72-53 to win its first Southwestern Athletic Conference championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

With the bid already secured, all A&M coach Vann Pettaway and his players wanted to know was where they would be dancing.

At a NCAA Selection Show viewing party in the Ernest L. Knight Center on campus, the Bulldogs learned their fate.

A&M's first NCAA Tournament game will be Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, against Oakland, Mich., in the play-in game.

"It's a great feeling," Pettaway said after seeing his team's name. "I love the feeling. After watching the ratings all year, we knew our conference's RPI was not that high, and there was a good chance we would get the play-in game.

"We've got the play-in game, and now we've got to go and make the best of it."

A&M (18-13) and Oakland (12-18) will tip off at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

Pettaway said there are advantages to the play-in game.

"You're on national television all by yourself," he said. "We'll be the only game on TV that night, so a lot of people will get an opportunity to see us. It's great for recruiting. It'll show some of these kids we need players at certain positions. Hopefully, it'll help us."

While Pettaway expected his team to play in the play-in game all along, some of his players were disappointed they would have to play their way into the tournament after winning SWAC regular season and tournament titles.

"We feel we deserved a little more respect than that," senior forward Andre Matthews said. "But we're fired up to show people we deserve to be in this tournament, so we're going to go up there and try to win and move on."

"We were hoping to get an automatic bid, but it didn't work out like that so we've got to go to Dayton and get in the first round of the tournament," senior guard Rickey Ricketts said. "We're playing well right now, and I'm sure we'll be ready to play Tuesday night."

Pettaway said Oakland is a mystery to him.

"I don't know anything about them," he said. "I don't know their mascot. I don't know where they're located other than they're in Michigan.

"But we'll get on the horn and talk to other people about them. It's going to kill the coaches. You've got to spend half the time trying to get somebody to send some film to Dayton. The rest of us will be trying to figure out where to send it to in Dayton, and then we've got to get it done before our practice time because we've got to make a decision what to do against this team."

If A&M wins Tuesday night, it would meet No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday in Charlotte, N.C.

"That No. 1 seed could take you light, but that's a heck of a No. 1 seed," Pettaway said, laughing. "That team is loaded. That's not going to be an easy game. They lead the nation in scoring. We'll have to slow that thing down. We would have to work on our delay game."

While there was still a lot of work to be done, Pettaway said Sunday was one of the best days of his life.

"This day means a lot to me," he said. "I'm blessed. I'm happy God has been with us this year. I have a lot of respect for those young men because they could have folded early in the season when we got off to the slow start. They could have tucked their tails when we lost three of our last four games, but they turned up the screws.

"And, to cap it off with that performance by Obie Trotter is tremendous. Our ship has finally come in."

 

[IE]

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Oakland well-prepared for tournament

Playing a rough non-conference schedule toughened the Golden Grizzlies.

Rawle Marshall says it won't take long for the jitters to go away during tonight's play-in game against Alabama A&M



DAYTON, Ohio -- It was almost a nightmare the way Oakland University opened its basketball season.

Now it's Fantasy Island.

The Golden Grizzlies were 0-7 playing a tough non-conference schedule, which included an 85-54 loss at No. 1 Illinois and defeats against Xavier, Marquette, Texas A&M, Missouri, Kansas State and St. Louis. Later in the season, Oakland lost 92-75 at Michigan State.

But the Golden Grizzlies wanted to play against the best to help them get ready for the Mid-Continent Conference tournament.

It worked. The Golden Grizzlies (12-18), despite having the only losing record in the 65-team field, qualified for their first NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the league tournament. They will take on Alabama A&M (18-13) in a play-in game at 7 tonight at the University of Dayton. The winner advances to play No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday at Charlotte, N.C.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe said he warned school president Gary Russi and athletic director Jack Mehl that he wanted to play a difficult non-conference schedule but they might not win many of them.

"I don't agree with it but I understand it now for the first time and you have to play by it in Division I at our level, the only thing that matters is the Tournament," Kampe said.

"There's no rules let says you have to have a winning record to get in the NCAA Tournament. And our president (Russi) told me he doesn't care what our record is. We wanted to play a tough non-conference schedule. We were on TV 17 times this season. We care about winning the league tournament and getting to the Big Dance."

Still, there were some fans who were disgruntled with Oakland's losing, a 9-18 record entering the Mid-Continent tournament. But then the Golden Grizzlies won three straight, capping it off with a 61-60 upset over host Oral Roberts (25-7) on Pierre Dukes' three-point shot with 1.3 seconds left.

Kampe said his team was prepared for the boisterous crowd in Tulsa because of playing at Illinois and Michigan State, where their crowds yell at a fever pitch.

Every time an opponent made a run against Oakland in the league tournament he reminded them of their past experiences in hostile environments.

"The (Oral Roberts) crowd went nuts but we didn't fold," Kampe said. "One of the things we said during timeouts this is nothing guys because we've been here before. This isn't the Izzone (MSU's student cheering section). This isn't the Orange Krush (Illinois' cheering section). I reminded them of that on 50 occasions during that (Mid-Con) tournament."

Now Kampe and the Golden Grizzlies are media darlings.

"There were some fans and people who believed something was wrong, but our president and our athletic director know what we've tackled," Kampe said. "We made this transition to Division I and we've played some of the best teams in the country. We might end up losing by 25-30 points but we play some of the best. I really believe this schedule prepared us."

Well wishers

Kampe said he has heard from friends and coaches congratulating him and the Golden Grizzlies. Among the callers were Lions coach Steve Mariucci, MSU coach Tom Izzo and Marquette coach Tom Crean.

Izzo called in the wee hours.

"It's been great to hear from everyone of them," Kampe said. "Izzo called at 4 o'clock this morning. He's getting about as much sleep as I am."

Shooting machine

Oakland utilizes a $20,000 Noah basketball shooting system, which was purchased last fall. The Noah system uses a combination of camera, computer and speaker to help players improve their shooting.

"The idea is if you can consistently shoot the ball at the angle of release and learn how to do muscle memory of that angle you can make your shot," Kampe said.

No looking ahead

Kampe admits it'll be hard for both his team and Alabama A&M not to look ahead to a game against North Carolina.

But his players are focusing first on A&M.

"There's definitely going to be jitters the first couple of minutes, but then it'll go away," senior Rawle Marshall said.

 

[IE]

Grizzlies fever turns Oakland upside down

Quiet commuter college catches buzz as hoops team heads to NCAA tourney.



Grizzlies fight song

Fight, fight, fight for Oakland; fight the whole game long.

Fight, fight, fight for Oakland; keep the Grizzlies strong.

While the battle rages and our work's not done, we will fight for glory 'til the game is won.

OU! Go Black!

Go Gold! Go fight!

Fight, fight, fight for Oakland; fight the whole game long.

Fight, fight, fight for Oakland; keep the Grizzlies strong.

When the game is over and the story's told, OU will claim vic'try. We're the black and Gold! OU!
Hear it in RealAudio

Cheering the Grizzlies

The President's Office is busing students to Dayton for tonight's game. The bus is free, but game tickets are $10. OU"s Student Congress will provide free boxed dinners. The bus will depart from Lot 11, adjacent to the Upper Level Playing Fields at 11 a.m. this morning; students need to be at the bus by 10:30 a.m.

The ride to Dayton is about five hours and the bus will return immediately following the game. Sign-up for the bus was on a first-come, first-served basis starting Monday at 9 a.m. in the Center for Student Activities Service Window, 49 Oakland Center.

A free bus provided by the OU president's office - with free box lunches through the Student Congress - was to leave campus for Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. today. An alumni bus accompanied the student bus - but it cost $45.

The Center for Student Activities is hosting a student watch party in the TV lounge in the lower level of the Oakland Center for students unable to make the trip to Dayton.

The Alumni Association is sponsoring a watch party at Rochester Mills Beer Company, 400 Water St. in downtown Rochester, at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Carol Carpenter at (248) 364-6134.

If Oakland wins tonight, check the Road to the NCAA Tournament Web site for ticket and travel information for Friday's second-round game.

To order OU tournament T-shirts, go to www.ougrizzlies.com.

Source: Oakland University



ROCHESTER -- John Reser didn't enroll at Oakland University to cheer for its basketball team.

Oakland isn't exactly a basketball powerhouse. The team is probably only the sixth most popular basketball team even among residents of its hometown of Rochester, trailing the Detroit Pistons, University of Michigan, Michigan State and the Highlanders and Falcons of the two local high schools.

None of that mattered Monday, as Reser bounced up and down in his seat at the Oakland Center at Oakland University, making plans to watch his Golden Grizzlies play in the tournament.

The NCAA tournament -- the same NCAA tournament with the likes of North Carolina, Duke and Kansas.

"I like our odds," said Reser, 20, of Madison Heights.

The primarily commuter campus has its moment (albeit, probably a brief moment) in the national spotlight tonight, as it begins the 2005 national basketball tournament. It'll be the biggest sporting event in the history of a school unaccustomed to fight songs and pompoms.

In a pep rally held in a food court, student body president Jonathan Parks offered $100 to anyone who could sing the fight song.

One person stepped forward.

"I was an orientation leader, and I was required to learn it," admitted Kathy McCarty, 19, of Midland after leading a crowd of about 400 in a spirited, if off-key, version of "O.U. Fight."

Student tickets for basketball games are $2, and 100 tickets are available free at the university bookstore. Yet fans can usually walk into the stadium and sit directly behind the bench. There usually are more attending night classes than watching the basketball team.

Kelley Parente has never been to an Oakland basketball game. "We're all just so busy," said Parente, 18, of Shelby Township. "I'm a full-time student and have a part-time job."

With 16,576 students, Oakland University is bigger than 27 of the 65 universities in the tournament.

It has four times the enrollment of powerhouse Wake Forest and more than twice that of Duke. But Oakland is a commuter campus, with less than 10 percent of students living in the school's dorms. Oakland's students tend to be older and have jobs, the kind of student more likely to attend PTA meetings than a basketball game.

"I have a busy life," said Laurie Jacob, 44, of Hazel Park, a full-time nursing student with a job and two kids.

While the Golden Grizzlies battle in Dayton, Ohio, Jacob will be battling to get her children into bed. "Basketball is not something I think about," she said.

With no high-profile sports teams and little campus identity, Oakland has long flown under the radar. "There are more signs for Great Lakes Crossing (along I-75) than for Oakland University," said Zach Frogge, 19, of Macomb Township. "I don't think a lot of people know who we are."

While the school pep band played in the next room, Sadia Chaudhry kept her head buried in a textbook. She'll be spending this evening facing a tougher challenge than Alabama A&M: organic chemistry.

"I think some people think (making the NCAA tournament) is a big deal, like we may get school spirit now," Chaudhry said.

It's not as if the team gave the student body any warning of impending greatness. The team started the season 0-7, being used as a punching bag by the likes of Michigan State, Xavier and Marquette. One of its star players quit during the season and had to be cajoled back onto the team. That same player hit the winning basket in a game last week that propelled Oakland into its first NCAA tournament.

That victory splashed the unheralded school onto ESPN's SportsCenter and the pages of USA TODAY. Sports writers from around the country called for interviews.

"Us winning has brought people out of the woodwork," said Phil Hess, sports information director at Oakland. "It's awakened a lot of school spirit."

On a campus where the most competitive sporting event is finding a good parking space, rallying behind a team is a new, awkward dance. The school held its pep rally at the university food court at noon and planted signs around campus promising free eats to assure a crowd. The words to the school fight song were flashed on a screen so students could sing.

It seemed to work.

Randi Clark fell asleep while watching the conference championship game that put Oakland in the tournament. But on Monday, she was a newly awakened Grizzly fan, smiling at game highlights flashed on the screen. "We are never this unified," said Clark, 21, a Detroit native who lives on campus. "The residents and the commuters are all talking to each other (about the basketball team)."

Mary Isaacs was first in line to buy T-shirts commemorating Oakland's jump into March Madness. "I've been here 32 years, and this is the best thing that has happened," said Isaacs, reservation coordinator for the Oakland Center. "It's the kind of thing that will bring people together."

Who knows? If that spirit keeps spreading, maybe a few students will even skip class tonight to watch Oakland play in the tournament.

The team is a slight underdog (Las Vegas lists Oakland as 9,999-to-1 to win the national championship; USA TODAY lists the school's chances as "22 gazillion-to-1.").

Being disrespected is nothing new for Oakland University. But McCarty thinks she senses one new thing in the air.

"This is awesome," McCarty said. "Maybe in a couple of years, I won't be the only one who knows the school fight song."

 

[IE]

Play-in participants happy

Oakland, Alabama A&M to open NCAA tourney

By Associated Press
March 15, 2005

DAYTON, Ohio -- As an NCAA moderator introduced Oakland coach Greg Kampe on Monday night, he mentioned the Grizzlies' 12-18 record.

"You really had to bring that up, didn't you?" Kampe scolded in mock disgust. "Couldn't you have said 18-12?"




The Grizzlies and Alabama A&M (18-13) will meet tonight in the play-in game at the University of Dayton after weathering seasons filled with adversity.

Oakland opened its eighth season in Division 1 0-7, losing by an average of 13 points a game. The opponents: Illinois, Marquette, Xavier, Missouri, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Saint Louis.

"We understand our record is not what some people think it should be. We make no apologies," Kampe said. "Our schedule was ranked No. 1 by the Sagarin ratings at the end of the non-conference. I wouldn't do that again, but it definitely prepared us to get here."

The Grizzlies regrouped to win their last five games, winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament title by pulling off three upsets on consecutive days by a total of seven points to grab their first NCAA Tournament bid. It took Pierre Dukes's 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left for Oakland to upset top-seeded Oral Roberts 61-60 in the final.

That shot extended the streak to four years in a row that a team with a losing record has made it into the NCAA field.

Asked what the 0-7 start says about Oakland's players, Alabama A&M forward Joe Martin said, "They're tough. They didn't get down on themselves. They kept playing and they found a way."

A&M's problems weren't on the court. They won the Southwestern Athletic Conference's regular-season title and then rolled to the conference's tournament championship to also make their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Before the season started, coach Vann Pettaway called his team together to tell them that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His doctors suggested he leave the team to receive treatment but he returned for what has become a magical ride.

"Basketball has been good medicine for me," he said. "They (the doctors) told me to take the year off, but there's no way I could have made it without basketball."

Pettaway will complete radiation treatments when this memorable season ends.

Accustomed to learning X's and O's, his players picked up a larger lesson in toughness from him.

"It motivated us," Bulldogs star guard Obie Trotter said of his coach's struggle. "That's the type of person he is. He never gave up."

Pettaway is 384-181 in 19 seasons at the 6,000-student school in Normal, Ala., guiding the transition from Division 2 to Division I in 1999.

Kampe has spent 21 years at Oakland, a campus of 16,500 students in Rochester, Mich., going 348-254 while also leading the move up to Division 1.