It’s been a wild week for Oakland University Men’s Basketball – and, sadly, the most engaging aspects of this ride have not resulted in favorable outcomes for the Golden Grizzlies.
Last Saturday, OU traveled to Pittsburgh to face Robert Morris with hopes of avenging their only loss in the month of January to that point. What ensued was a back-and-forth battle between two of the premier programs in the Horizon League, both vying for top-4 seeding as the end of the regular season approaches and the conference playoffs loom closer.
Despite needing to navigate an unthinkable scenario in which their star player, fifth-year center Allen Mukeba, was held to zero points on 22 minutes of playing time, the Grizzlies managed to stay level with the Colonials in the final minute of regulation as sharpshooter Malcolm Christie hit on back-t0-back 3s to tie the game at 71 all with less than ten seconds remaining.
The visitors from Rochester Hills would not get a chance to mount a comeback in overtime, however. With one second remaining, the Colonials’ Kam Woods lobbed up a three-point attempt from the top of the key, ultimately drawing a controversial foul call on Oakland’s DQ Cole that would send the home team to the free throw line to seal the victory. Robert Morris would claim a 73-71 victory, sweeping the series against the Grizzlies.
But the damage for Oakland was not yet done. In the aftermath of the closing moments, head coach Greg Kampe gave the official who called the game-deciding foul an earful (as he’s known to do). Nothing too out of the ordinary. Or rather, at least it seemed that way at the time.
Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon. In the wake of the divisive conclusion to the OU/RMU game, Horizon League commissioner Julie Roe Lach issued the following statement:
A statement from Horizon League commissioner, Julie Roe Lach. pic.twitter.com/VEtYQvjCyd
— Horizon League (@HorizonLeague) January 28, 2025
To call this move significant on a collegiate level would be selling it short. In the aggregate, it is a fantastic standard set by the Horizon League. In a 48-hour window, the conference purged itself of a ref that did not perform to the standards that it should hold its officiating staff to. That is rare, and should be commended unilaterally. But then there’s the other element of this decision…which one cannot help but raise an eyebrow at after reading.
If the league decided that this referee made an egregious call – one that rises to the level of barring them from ever calling future Horizon games, why would they also issue a one-game suspension against Greg Kampe for berating the official? Granted, this certainly doesn’t rise to the level of fans wringing their hands and condemning the league for its punitive response, but it has an air of ‘everyone had to get a lump of coal, or else we look too biased to one side.’
Regardless, this is the hand Oakland was dealt. They left Pittsburgh with a questionable (but avoidable) loss, and then found themselves dealt another one as they prepared to defend home court against the visiting Green Bay Phoenix on Thursday night. Furthermore, they would need to do so under the guidance of assistant head coach Jeff Smith, who had never won a game as an acting head coach on the collegiate level before.
But it wasn’t all bad breaks for the Grizzlies. If there was a game that you had to be without your prolific, four-plus decades head coach while also badly needing a win to close in on the Top 4 race in the conference, you couldn’t do much better than Green Bay. The Pheonix, led by first-year head coach and nationally known sports media personality Doug Gottlieb, entered the contest with an 0-11 record in Horizon play and only two wins to their name all season. Still, the visiting side managed to play Oakland tough – at least for a half.
After going into halftime tied at 29, OU started the second half on a 22-4 run, imposing their will not merely as a better scoring team, but one that could generate as many shot attempts as they needed by dominating the boards. The Golden Grizzlies would go on to win 68-54, recording the most team rebounds in a game (46) they’ve produced since the season opener against Defiance.
In the postgame, both Coach Smith and forward Buru Naivalarua emphasized the strength the team derives from their ability to rebound at a high level, with the latter commenting,
“It’s been a pretty big focus for us all year. Kampe made it pretty clear at the start of the season that he thought we would be a really good rebounding team.”
Reflecting on the resiliency of the players, Coach Smith spoke about how this group has proven their ability to overcome adversity after bad days.
“We’ve had some really difficult low moments with this team. Some heartbreaking, gut-wrenching losses, including the one we just played on Saturday – and we always find a way to bounce back. And it’s because of who these guys are. They care about one another, and they buy into what we’re doing with them.”
And just like that, all seemed well once more on the Oakland campus. The Grizzlies returned to their winning ways, and Kampe’s return was merely a blink away, with OU set to host the Norse of Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. To make things even sweeter, fate seemed to swing closer in the home side’s favor just moments before tipoff. Sitting at a record of 7-5 in the Horizon League, sharp fans had their eyes on the conclusion of Youngstown State v. IU Indy. The Penguins suffered an 84-79 upset against the visiting Jaguars, dropping their conference record to 8-5.
Next stop for Youngstown? A trip to the O’Rena this coming Thursday evening, looking to avoid a season sweep against the Grizzlies.
Suddenly, the path was presenting itself very clearly. A win over Northern Kentucky would draw Oakland level with Youngstown, positioning them right outside of the bye-range in the standings ahead of the home stretch. But the Norse, well-coached under Darrin Horn and plenty eager to snap a six-game losing streak, had other plans.
By the admission of Greg Kampe after the game, the Grizzlies were able to execute their game plan going into the matchup: take away NKUs two best players (Trey Robinson & Sam Vinson). The duo went 5-15 from the field for the day, resulting in a combined 16 points – well below their average of over 26. But what Oakland didn’t foresee, or have an answer for, was what to do if every other player for the Norse collectively rose to the occasion and played their best ball.
Most notable among the group was #0, Dan Gherezgher Jr. The 6’4, 180lb guard came into the matchup with only 21 points in his last ten outings combined…and all of those only came in his most recent three games. His breakout broke the levee at the O’Rena, yielding 22 points on +50% shooting from the field (7-14), three-point range (4-7), and 4-4 at the line. It didn’t help that the Norse also mounted a 17-point unanswered run in the first half. That one, Oakland answered, ultimately claiming a tenuous 40-39 lead at halftime.
But the second-half run, which saw Northern Kentucky go on a 19-4 tear as fouls mounted and OU bodies reached fatigue. Well, it just wasn’t in the cards for the Grizzlies to battle back from deficits so deep twice in the same outing. Not for lack of coaching or effort, and certainly not without another spate of remarkable officiating moments, Oakland would drop only their third home game of the season, losing 84-75 to NKU.
The visiting Norse out-rebounded the Grizzlies (33 to 31), scored 16 points on fast breaks, and registered 22 assists – the most Kampe’s squad has allowed since mid-November. When asked why Northern Kentucky was able to find high-level production with their two stars relatively stymied, the OU coach looked back at the game plan.
“They have two great players. Two preseason all-league players (Robinson & Vinson). They scored eight points a piece, and that was what our game plan was. That’s what we did at their place and we beat ’em by double digits.”
Kampe continued, “They had a guy who hasn’t even been a starter (Gherezgher Jr.) that they threw in, who was shooting 20-something percent from three…goes 4-7 and scores 22 points. They had five guys in double digits, and it’s not their two stars. And so you just step back and say, ‘Wow, they played great.’ I think if we played them ten times and we hold Robinson and Vinson to eight points each, we’ll win nine of the ten. There’s gonna be a night that they do what they did. That night happened to be tonight. But going into the game, I wouldn’t have cared if #0 got an open look.”
The outcome beckons a new question for Kampe and his team: what is their ceiling when opposing teams find ways to slow down Mukeba and Buru (even in brief stretches) as scorers in the paint and imposing forces on the boards? Like most things, there are trade-offs when your squad is so dependent on veteran centers, and Kampe sounds eager to get his players moving at a quicker pace.
“Sitting at home the other night watching us on TV, I think we play way too slow. And I felt that we needed to pick up the pace because you need to get some easy ones during the course of a game.”
The Grizzlies fall to Northern Kentucky, 84-75. Oakland (10-14) hosts Youngstown State (14-10) on Thursday, February 6. Tipoff at 7 pm EST.
