Can Oakland hold its reign in the Summit League next season?

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Coming off its back-to-back Summit League championships and berths in the NCAA tournament, Oakland University has built plenty respect in the college basketball world.

Now, can the Golden Grizzlies keep it going, or will they fall back into the obscurity as a college that some still think is located in Oakland, California, and not suburban Detroit?

Oakland will lose three key players to graduation. Keith Benson, the two-time Player of the Year in the Summit League, is a likely NBA draft pick with some sites having him projected as a middle-to-late first round selection or second round choice. He will take his 6-foot-11 frame and multiple school records to the professional ranks.

Will Hudson, a second-team all-league honoree, will also take his 6-9 frame outside of the O’rena, probably oversees. Larry, Wright, a 6-2 guard who played two years with Oakland and was the Summit League’s Sixth Man of the Year this season, also departs and will seeks to shop his talents overseas as well.

TAKING THE REIGNS: Oakland junior guard Reggie Hamilton scored 25 points in the Golden Grizzlies' loss to Texas in the NCAA tournament and should be a Player of the YEar candidate in the Summit LEague next season. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com

With those holes, can the Golden Grizzlies still dominate the Summit League and be a top-10 team in the Mid-Major polls. Oakland has posted a 40-2 record against Summit League foes the past two seasons, recording a17-1 league record the past two years for a 34-2 ledger in the regular season, plus back-to-back 3-0 performances in the league tournaments for six more wins.

Oakland also lost in the Summit League finals on a late three-pointer to North Dakota State in 2009. The program has built quite a reputation along the way, playing multiple schools from power conferences each year.

In 2010-11 alone, the Golden Grizzlies faced Ohio State, West Virginia, Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois and Tennessee — all NCAA tournament teams this season. Oakland finished 1-5 against teams in the top 25 at the time the Grizzlies played them.

Last season, making only their second trip to the NCAA tournament since going Division I in the late 1990s, the Golden Grizzlies drew third-seed Pittsburgh in the first round. This season, OU drew Texas, which was ranked as high as third in the country this weekend and was a No. 4 seed in the NCAA field.

Oakland dropped an 85-81 decision to the Longhorns Friday in a second round NCAA game in Tulsa, Okla.

Oakland will be young and unproven in the post next season. The Golden Grizzlies will have, potentially, one of the deepest backcourts not only in the Summit League, but in the entire nation with several capable ball handlers and perimeter shooters.

“We will be a different type of team, that’s for sure” admitted Kampe. “We will do things differently. We just won’t have a 6-11 NBA pick in the post. You can’t replace that.”

Reggie Hamilton, who took over the point guard position this season after transferring over from league rival UMKC, is a star in the making and a likely candidate for Player of the Year in the Summit League next season. He scored 25 points in the loss to Texas and helped stage a second-half comeback that fell just short.

Hamilton won’t be alone in terms of players who will continue to make an impact. Drew Valentine, a 6-5 sophomore forward, moved into the starting lineup midway through the season and is a rising star in his own right.

Redshirt freshman Travis Bader emerged as one of the top three-point marksman in the Summit League and will still have the green light to shoot from the perimeter next season. Freshman Ryan Bass will bring his quickness as the backup point guard, along with sophomore Ledrick Eakles, who fought through a nagging ankle injury this season and never returned to the type of success he enjoyed as a freshman.

Junior Blake Cushingberry, a 6-3, 250-pound guard/forward, missed the whole season with a knee injury but will be expected to bring his versatile abilities to the court next season. Laval Lucas-Perry, who sat out the year after stints at Arizona and Michigan, has one more year of eligibility and gives the Grizzlies another capable ball-handler and shooter next season.

The questions come in the post, where 7-0 junior Ilija Milutinovic will see an expanded roll. The Serbian product has played scant minutes the first three years and often wants to play away from the basket.

Two players that were redshirted this season will be expected to see plenty of court time in the post during the  2011-12 season are waiting eagerly in the wings. Kyle Sikora, a 7-footer from Key Largo, Fla., is a shot-blocking talent who matured practicing against Benson during the past year. Corey Petros, a 6-9, 250-pound forward from nearby Utica Eisenhower, will be asked to follow the mode of Hudson, a blue-collar-type player who does a lot of the dirty work.

“Those two guys are doing to be better than what people think,” smiled Kampe. “I guess going up against a future NBA player in practice every day will help. They will be given the opportunity next year.”

Jordan Howenstine, a 6-1 sophomore, and 6-7 freshman Joey Asbury, are the other two players that will return next season, but the duo only saw scattered minutes this season and aren’t expected to be major contributors next winter.

Oakland lost 6-7 junior Drew Maynard in December, when the guard/forward returned from suspension and opted to transfer. He recently agreed to terms with Division II Valdosta State.

As for recruits, Oakland has two players already signed, while Kampe is hoping for another commitment from another forward in the upcoming months.

Matt Poches, a 6-5 forward from Hartland, and Dante Williams, a 6-6 guard/forward from Ann Arbor Huron, both signed in November and are two players that are not afraid of driving to the basket and scoring.

With many returning players and several key newbies on the horizon, Oakland will still be a contender in the Summit League next season, and should battle with Oral Roberts as the teams to beat in 2011-12.

The tag as the heavy favorite will no longer be there.

“I know we won’t expected to go 17-1 next year, but I do think we’ll be a team that can compete for the conference title. We’ll just be a different type of team,” offered Kampe. “We won’t be as tall and long in the post, at least have the experience we did with Benson and Hudson.”

Oakland has three NCAA losses in seven years against powerhouse programs — 2005 national champ North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Texas.

“We’ve just had some tough draws,” said Kampe. “I really thought this team had a shot of winning in this tournament.

“Everybody’s sad because it’s over,” continued Kampe, who just finished his 27^th year as Oakland’s head coach and has 33 years of experience in the college game. “It’s a special year with a special team. We just didn’t get the draw we needed to make a (run) in the tournament.”

Perhaps that will come in the future.

“I still believe we have the potential to be very good next year,” added Kampe. “I wouldn’t count us out.”

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