Oakland

State of '08: Michigan

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:07:42 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

MICHIGAN

MICHIGAN STATE - Since Tom Izzo took over in 1995, Michigan State has never finished below .500 in Big East play, and has made the postseason for thirteen straight seasons. This year's squad has the look of Izzo's seventh team that advances to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond.

MICHIGAN - Its amazing how little success Michigan has had in the last decade under Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker. One of the country's top programs from the 80's into the 90's hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament in 10 years, a streak which will certainly continue in 2009. John Beilein's rebuilding project will take some time.

WESTERN MICHIGAN - The best of Michigan's directional MAC programs, WMU has finished above .500 in conference play for the last seven seasons. This seven-year run includes four 20-win seasons, three postseason trips, and wins over quality programs such as Davidson & SIU last year, and Virginia Tech and San Diego State the previous season. We project the Broncos to make another run at the postseason in 08-09.

OAKLAND - Longtime coach Greg Kampe continues to do a great job at Oakland. He oversaw the move up from DII to D1 a decade ago, a transition that was surprisingly smooth. The Grizzlies made their first NCAA Tourney in 2005.. and were just a few baskets away from a return trip in 2007. OU will once again be a serious Summit League contender in 2009.

DETROIT - For much of the 90's, and up to as recently as 2005, Detroit was a consistent Horizon League power under long-time coach Perry Watson. But in part due to health problems, Watson has now been replaced by Ray McCallum, who hopes to return the Titans to that high level of play. It will take some time though as Detroit is coming off one of the worst season's in the programs history (just 6-23 against D1 opponents).

6. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Outside of an amazing 2003 season, CMU hasn't had much to cheer about over the last twenty seasons. But third year coach Ernie Ziegler has brought an air of respectability to the program, as the past two seasons have seen improved play. 2009 could be the Chippewas best season since 2003's freak 2nd round NCAA Tourney run.

7. EASTERN MICHIGAN - The Eagles were one of the MAC's better teams in the 90's, but the last decade has been dismal. EMU hasn't finished above 200th in the RPI since 2000, and CHN projects another such season in 08-09.

Last: Maryland - Next: Mississippi

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

2008-09 Oakland Basketball Preview: #136

Joel Welser — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:08:51 -0700

Oakland Grizzlies

Overall Rank: #136

Conference Rank: #2 Summit League

2007-08: 17-14, 11-7, 3^rd

2007-08 postseason: none

Oakland has slowly been putting together a quality program in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Coach Greg Kampe is now in his 25^th year leading the team and it is time for the Grizzlies to start consistently competing for championships in the Summit League. Possibly even more important than the influx of talent at Oakland is the fact that perennial Summit powerhouses Oral Roberts and IUPUI are expected to have down years.

Who's Out:

Seven of the top eight scorers from last year's 11-7 team are back. The depth up front will take a hit with the departures of Patrick McCloskey and Shane Lawal, both of whom started a handful of games. Seldom used B-Jay Walker and Peter Bunn will also not be returning, but the biggest loss is guard Brandon Cassise. The guard spent most the year coming off the bench where he was a dangerous scoring threat, mostly from beyond the arc.

Who's In:

Oakland's recruiting class is superb, led by Drew Maynard. The 6-7 shooting guard is a great athlete and is a joy to watch in transition. He can also knock down the outside shot with consistency and will never be accused of lacking aggressiveness or toughness. For now Maynard will be a dynamic playmaker and scorer off the bench. Since Maynard will spend most of his time at the three spot, fellow incoming freshman shooting guard Blake Cushingberry could squeeze in a few minutes off the bench this season. He does not lack in talent, but there are some quality players ahead of him on the depth chart for now. Point guard Matt Samuels will be asked to be a backup right away and could end up being the most important of the newcomers. However, Johnny Thames and Ilija Milutinovic step into a frontcourt that could use another weapon or two. Thames is pretty polished for a 6-9, 220 pound freshman and should at least add another defensive presence to the team. Speaking of presence, Milutinovic is 7-0 and 255 pounds. The Serbian is a little rough around the edges, but the potential is enormous.

Who to Watch:

Even if Thames is ready to make a contribution, does the frontcourt have enough weapons to propel the Golden Grizzlies to the top of the conference? The backcourt is going to do a ton of scoring, but the big guys have to improve. Dan Waterstradt started 22 games last season and center Keith Benson earned 20 as a freshman. At 6-10 and 6-11, respectively, those two will be an intimidating duo under the basket against most conference opponents, but neither are prolific scorers. Will Hudson, like Benson, is just a sophomore and that year of experience can do nothing but help.

Final Projection:

If the frontcourt struggles, Oakland has proven that the backcourt trio can carry this team to success. Johnathon Jones is a great scoring point guard and tallied 14.9 points and 6.0 assists per game as a sophomore. Erik Kangas is the shooter. He averaged 14.6 points per game in 2007-2008, but Kangas could be even more effective if he drove to the basket a little more. Derick Nelson does it all. He is not a great shooter, but he can hit the outside shot, yet most of his 17.3 points per game came by getting to the rim. The 6-5 Lansing, Michigan product is a great athlete and will get above the rim on the other side of the court as well and led the team with 7.4 rebounds per contest. Add sophomore Tim Williams to the mix and nobody in the Summit League can compete with this backcourt.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Johnathon Jones, Junior, Guard, 14.9 points per game

Erik Kangas, Senior, Guard, 14.6 points per game

Derick Nelson, Senior, Forward, 17.3 points per game

Keith Benson, Sophomore, Center, 5.2 points per game

Dan Waterstradt, Senior, Center, 5.7 points per game

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Summit?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:58:01 -0700

2007-08 Oakland Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:24:46 -0700

By Joel Welser

jwelser@collegehoops.net

Oakland Grizzlies

Overall Rank: #144

Conference Rank: #2 Summit

2006-07: 19-14, 10-4, 2^nd

2006-07 postseason: none

Led by long time coach Greg Kampe, Oakland has quietly developed into a contender in the newly named Summit League (formerly Mid-Con). With Oral Roberts ready to give up their reign as conference dominators, the Grizzlies will be in the mix. However, the new frontcourt will need to grow up quickly if Oakland wants to earn the first ever Summit League championship.

Who’s Out:

Vova Severovas led the team with 14.3 points and frontcourt mate Shawn Hopes added 12.3 per contest. It is not just the scoring that will be missed, but the duo combined for 10.8 rebounds per game during the 2006-2007 season. Guard Rick Billings, a former transfer from Ohio State, wrapped up his collegiate career with a disappointing senior campaign, averaging just 5.5 points per game. Keith MacKenzie has opted to transfer after seeing limited action last year.

Who’s In:

There is a lot of talent on this list and the Grizzlies will need the big men to step up in order to compliment the talented returning backcourt. Dan Waterstradt is eligible after playing two years at Rutgers. The 6-10 junior averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds as a freshman for the Scarlet Knights before seeing less playing time as a sophomore. Finding another big guy to work next to Waterstradt is the bigger concern. At 6-10, redshirt freshman Keith Benson would provide some more size, but he does not have much of an offensive game at this point in his career. Incoming freshman Will Hudson will end up being a recruiting steal, but it may be asking a little too much for him to make a big impact from day one. The wings will find plenty of depth with incoming freshmen Jon Tassin and Tim Williams and sophomore B-Jay Walker, who missed last year with an injury. Williams is the player to keep an eye on and the 6-4 Pontiac, Michigan product could develop into a star in a couple of years. Freshman Peter Bunn will fill the backup point guard void that caused some problems last season.

Who to Watch:

Johnathon Jones earned his fair share of All-Freshmen honors after averaging 9.4 points and 3.6 assists during his first season at Oakland. The 6-0 Okemos, Michigan native started every game at point guard, and that is quite impressive for a freshman. With his steadying force, the Grizzlies are in good hands for the next three years. Keeping the turnovers down is something that needs to be worked on, but it should not be a long term problem. Three-point specialist Erik Kangas will join Jones in the backcourt. Kangas showed promise as a freshman, but once he was given the chance to consistently play last year as a sophomore, he exploded into one of the best long range shooters nobody has heard of. Kangas drained 3.3 shot from beyond the arc per game, making 43.1 percent of his attempts.

Final Projection:

The key is getting some quality production from the frontcourt. Small Forward Derick Nelson was the best rebounder on the team last season and can at least help out in that department if the big guys are having troubles. Senior Patrick McCloskey will not be an offensive threat, but the 6-8, 225 pounder will hit the glass and could battle for a starting spot if the freshmen are not ready. This is a really young team and 2008-2009 is when the Oakland fans will be really excited, but there is enough talent, and a wide open enough Summit race, for the Grizzlies to win the conference right now.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Johnathon Jones, Sophomore, Guard, 9.4 points per game

Erik Kangas, Junior, Forward, 12.9 points per game

Derick Nelson, Junior, Forward, 10.1 points per game

Patrick McCloskey, Senior, Forward, 0.7 points per game

Dan Waterstradt, Junior, Forward, DNP last season

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | Discuss the Preview

Mid-Con Conference Preview

CHN — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:54:08 -0800

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

Mid-Con Preview

Conference Rank: 25th

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Caleb Green, Oral Roberts, F

Ken Tutt, Oral Roberts, G

Calvin Wooten, G

Quinton Day, UMKC, G

George Hill, IUPUI, G

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
108	IUPUI	1	NCAA
125	Oral Roberts	2
166	UMKC	3
211	Oakland	4
253	Western Illinois	5
285	Valparaiso	6
302	Southern Utah	7
322	Centenary	8

Head Coach Q&A's

Ron Hunter - IUPUI

Bill Evans - Southern Utah

Other Preview Articles

Mid-Con Coaches Poll & All-Conference

IPFW to Join Mid-Con