Greg Kampe Finalist for Coach of the Year

Oakland University coach Greg Kampe has been named as a finalist for the 2011 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and 2011 Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. Coach Kampe had as good a year as any and should stand a good chance of winning both awards. Weird that Shaka Smart of VCU was left off both lists, not sure if that was an error or not.

The below are the other contenders:

2011 JIM PHELAN AWARD FINALISTS
Mike Brey Notre Dame
Rick Byrd Belmont
Jamie Dixon Pittsburgh
Billy Donovan Florida
Steve Fisher San Diego State
Greg Kampe Oakland
Mike Krzyzewski Duke
Steve Lavin St. John's
Thad Matta Ohio State
Stew Morrill Utah State
Sean Miller) Arizona
Matt Painter Purdue
Rick Pitino Louisville
Dave Rose Brigham Young
Bill Self Kansas
Roy Williams North Carolina

2011 HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALISTS
Tommy Amaker Harvard
Randy Bennett St. Mary's
Rick Byrd Belmont
Ed Cooley Fairfield
Cliff Ellis Coastal Carolina
Jim Ferry Long Island
B.J. Hill Northern Colorado
Rob Jeter Milwaukee
Sydney Johnson Princeton
Greg Kampe Oakland
Jim Larranaga George Mason
Cuonzo Martin Missouri State
Dave Paulsen Bucknell
Clifford Reed Bethune-Cookman
Brad Stevens Butler
Blaine Taylor Old Dominion

Oakland's Coach Kampe on Texas Longhorns

OU Grizzlies Receive Tourney Invite

Oakland University for the second time in three years has lost in the conference tournament championship game, this time it was a veteran North Dakota State team who denied the Grizzlies a seed in the Big Dance.

Despite the loss, this was OU's most successful season in Division I posting a record of 22 wins and 12 losses. The Golden Grizzlies were rewarded for that record when they recieved and accepted an invite over the weekend to the inaugural CollegeInsider.com tourney. OU will host Kent State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the O’Rena in the first round of the tournament.

Coach Kampe explains the CollegeInsider.com tourney:
“It’s a tournament for the mid-majors,” Kampe said. “It looks toward teams that had really good years, but didn’t get in the NIT or NCAA (tournament). They are deserving, but didn’t get in. A lot of times the NIT will look the other way when it comes to mid-majors because it wants to make money. This tournament is not about making money. It’s about rewarding student athletes at the mid-major level. It’s really a great concept and I’m really excited to be part of it.”

Kent State (19-14) finished tied for third place in the MAC and will have its streak of 20-win seasons on the line against Oakland Tuesday.

Greg Kampe Wins 400th Game

From ougrizzlies.com

Redshirt sophomore Keith Benson scored a career-high 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots, and senior Erik Kangas finished with a season-high 19 points, to lead Oakland University (4-5, 1-1 Summit) past UMKC (3-6, 0-1 Summit), 84-78, in men's basketball action on Thursday night in Municipal Auditorium. The win gives head coach Greg Kampe his 400th of his career.

"This is an unbelievable win for us," said Kampe. "From what we went through on Tuesday night and knowing the importance of tonight's game, to get in a 0-2 hole would just kill us. These kids deserve a lot of credit. I told them it was one of the gutsiest performances that I have ever been associated with."

After the Kangaroos' Dane Brumagin made a pair of free throws to give UMKC its first lead, 77-76, with just 1:11 remaining in the game, Oakland called a timeout. Kangas, who was 2-for-10 from behind the arc, was called upon one last time and he found the bottom of the net on a big 3-pointer to give the Golden Grizzlies the lead again, 79-77, with just 52 ticks on the clock.

"I was thinking every shot feels good and I'm going to make it sooner than later," said Kangas. "Coach was calling out my name so I knew that I had to knock it down."

The Kangaroos misfired at the other end on a 3-pointer and missed the tip in which allowed Kangas to grab the rebound and give the ball to junior Johnathon Jones who in turn was followed and sank both free throws. Jones finished the game with 12 points and six assists, while freshman Matt Samuels added a career-high 10 points for the Grizzlies.

UMKC's Brumagin scored a game-high 29 points, 19 of those coming in the first half, and grabbed 10 boards for a double-double. Spencer Johnson had a double-double for the Roos with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Oakland had just nine turnovers in the game, while UMKC shot 39 treys, making 14 of them. OU was also outrebounded by the Kangaroos, 44-36.

Kampe becomes the 33rd active Division I coach to reach 400 wins, joining Tennessee's Bruce Pearl, who reached the plateau last night, and other greats like North Carolina's Roy Williams and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski to name a few.

"I've gone to ougrizzlies.com quit a bit and I had noticed that he got 399, so it was just good to get it on this road trip and get it out of the way," said redshirt senior Dan Waterstradt who ended the game with six points and five rebounds off the bench. "We were just thinking about UMKC and just trying to get after it."

The Golden Grizzlies will host Toledo in their home opener in the Athletics Center O'Rena on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game will air on OU's flagship station WDTW (1310 AM) and can also be followed on www.ougrizzlies.com.

Kampe Records Win Number 399

From ougrizzlies.com

Oakland University had four players in double figures led by senior Erik Kangas' game-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from long range, and junior Johnathon Jones dished out a season-high eight assists, scoring 13 points, to lead the Golden Grizzlies (3-4) to an 81-63 victory over Southeast Missouri State (2-4) in men's basketball action on Saturday at the Las Vegas Invitational in the Orleans Arena.

"Everybody scored in the first half, and that's what we are trying to get at," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "When you play like this, back to back nights and you've been on the trip that we have been on, you have to get contributions from more than just a couple guys. Early in the year that's what was happening, but now we're starting to get some guys that are comfortable."

The Golden Grizzlies win the lower bracket championship after defeating Delaware State (75-70) and SE Missouri State. Freshman Drew Maynard, who finished the game with 11 points, earned all-tournament honors after scoring a career-high 21 yesterday and averaging 16.5 for the tourney.

Also in double figures for the Grizzlies was freshman Blake Cushingberry, ending with 10 points including a career-high five points from the free throw line (5-7). Freshman Matt Samuels added eight points along with sophomore Will Hudson.

The game was never in doubt with the Golden Grizzlies leading by double digits for most of the game. The Redhawks crept within nine points on five occasions in the second half, with the last one coming with just under six minutes left in the game. Oakland responded with a 5-0 run over the next 50 seconds to take a commanding 14-point lead and never looked back.

SEMO was led by Jaycen Harning and Calvin Williams, each scoring 17 points for the Redhawks. The battle of the glass was close, with the Golden Grizzlies holding a 35-34 advantage. Oakland shot 53 percent (31-58) from the field in the game, going over 50 percent for the second consecutive game.

Coach Kampe now sits at 399 wins, hoping to get his 400th career victory at Southern Utah on Tuesday, Dec. 2, as Oakland begins Summit League action. Tip is slated for 9 p.m. ET in Cedar City and can be followed on via web streaming at ougrizzlies.com.