Two-time defending Oakland picked Second in Summit League preseason poll
ELMHURST, Ill. –After finishing on top and reaching the NCAA tournament the past two years, Oakland University’s men’s basketball teams isn’t expected to finish on top of the Summit League standings this season.
The two-time defending Summit League champion Golden Grizzlies are picked second with four first-place votes in the Preseason Poll, announced by the league office on Thursday. Oral Roberts received 27 of 32 first-place votes and was tabbed as the favorite to win the championship.
“I don’t pay attention to these preseason polls because they don’t mean a thing,” said OU coach Greg Kampe, who enters his 28th season. “We don’t worry about individual awards.”
Following ORU and OU in the Preseason Poll was No. 3 South Dakota State (one first-place vote), No. 4 IUPUI, No. 5 North Dakota State, No. 6 IPFW, No. 7 UMKC, No. 8 Southern Utah, No. 9 Western Illinois and newcomer South Dakota was picked 10th.
Reggie Hamilton (5-11, 176) was the only OU player to garner preseason recognition as he was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team. A native of Chicago, Ill., Hamilton finished second in the league with 2.3 assists per game and seventh with 17.6 points per game. He was an All-Summit League First team honoree in 2010-11 and was named to the 2011 Summit League All-Tournament Team after scoring 20 points or more in all three games.
The Golden Grizzlies have dominated The Summit League over the last two years, posting a nation’s-best 34-2 mark in league play and are 49-3 against league opponents in the last two-and-a-half years, including the last three Summit League tournaments. Oakland has also won 29 consecutive home league games, third longest streak in the country.
IUPUI’s Alex Young was named Summit League Preseason Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring last year by averaging 19.7 points per game. Hamilton and Young were joined on the first team by ORU’s Michael Craion and Dominique Morrison, SDSU’s Nate Wolters and IPFW’s Frank Gaines.
The preseason poll is voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches, league media and athletics communications personnel. Coaches are not permitted to vote on their own teams.
Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, Oakland University
