OU. . Wat The Eff

I'm going to take a break from the normal game to game break down and just give you my thoughts and opinions (Please don't mad if I say something you don't agree with) about the season thus fair, in no real order :

*Keith Benson- A very talented player who I now know why is predicted to go to The League. The guy is just an all around great player and had a REALLY good game against number one ranked Kansas. He proved that he can play against ANYBODY. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that last nights game against Memphis was a fluke. He went scoreless the first half and only finished with nine points and nine boards. Every player has an off day. I look forward to the rest of his season. He is also the Summit League player of the week.

*Drew Maynard- WHY DOESN'T THIS KID GET MORE PLAYING TIME? Did anybody see him at the past 2 home games? Kid was everywhere he needed to be and played well. I LOVE watching him and Derick or JJ set up Alleys. He gets that glare in his eyes and big bright smile and you know something is going to happen. DUNK! During the Rochester College game, a player fouled him so he did not get dunked on TWICE in a matter of 4 seconds. But besides alleys and dunks, he plays very hard during the games and I don't see why he doesn't get more time than he does. Kampe seems to prefer to put Cushingberry in the line up. Do not get me wrong, Cush is a good player, but I think that Drew is better.

*Larry Wright- "WHERE ART THOU": I'm putting an Amber Alert out for him in these games! All that hype and the kid just isn't preforming well. Kampe bobble head for anybody that can find him or his skills.

*Derick Nelson and Jonathan Jones- I really do not have that much to say about them right now. Sorry to disappoint guys.

*Ledrick Eackles- I like this kid. He is able to come off the bench and knock a few shots down for the grizzlies when we need it. Its nice to have great backup on the bench when your starters and go to kids need a rest. I'm impressed with the freshman so far, hope he keeps it up. I see him on the starting five next year.

*I really cannot comment too much on the past few games because I wasn't there and I don't want to steal the play by play from the Grizzlies site. But if you want to read about it, go here:

http://www.ougrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/oakl-m-baskbl-sched.html

*The Grizzlies go away for the next two weeks, BUT you can follow the action on twitter. Who ever updates the page is really good at keeping fans updated. Check it out:

http://twitter.com/OUGrizzlies

Oppss. . .

As we all know OU lost to EMU on Saturday (major sad face right?). I think that Oakland had a few problems during the game.

Derick Nelson hardly made any free throws, definitely hurt the team in the long run.

The team depended on Jonathan Jones and Kieth Benson too much. Yes, the two are great players but they cannot do it all. Jones was everywhere he needed to be during the game, he even had a great steal towards the end. Benson had a good game as well but they needed more support on the court.

Blake Cushingberry surprised me during the game. He started off not playing well, he had turn overs and couldnt make simple shots, but came back to finish up better after the half. Im actually a little upset that Drew Maynord didnt play more then he did. He got the crowd and team really amped up when he dunked the ball on Eastern's Brandon Browdry. Hes a really skilled player.

We also saw freshman Ledrick Eackles and Drew Valentine in action this game. Im glad Kampe didnt red shirt Valentine. Valentine is a young player and has a lot to learn but he was able to get the team some points when they needed it. He and Eackles were able to help keep the Grizzlies head in the game and give some of the starters a quick break. :-)

UPDATE ON REDSHIRTS: I was actually right. Freshman Travis Badder recieved a red shirt as well as transfer Reggie Hamilton.

Tonight the team takes on Wisconson! Im sure that Junior Will Hudson is looking forward to this game againest his homes team. Lets hope the Grizzlies can snap a 11 game losing track againest BIG TEN SCHOOLS!

Saturday OU takes on Rochester College at home, 6pm in the O'Rena!

Good Luck Fellas!

Home Opener

Oakland University Mens Baketball defeated Hope College, 97-62, on Tuesday in the pre season game at the O'Rena. I honestly was not at this game (sad face right?!) because I had to be at ABC News Station in Flint for a class field trip. But Im told it was very uneventful (I had friends at the game who texted me updates) Oakland led the entire game. There was no doubt that OU couldnt beat Hope.

Get Recap here :
http://www.ougrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/111009aaa.html


Only player who was not dressed was Reggie Hamilton. He's an automatic redshirt because he's a transfer. Kampe has yet to offically say who he is red shirting but I have my spectulations.

The surprise about the game was hearing about Drew Valentines role on the court. We figured that Kampe would play a few of his newcomers and bench kids, but i didnt expect a big impact from Valentine, 14 points and seven boards. We should see him on the court this season, I just hope that he doesnt get lost in the mix of OU's talent.

We will find out alot aout the team on Saturday evening when OU takes on Eastern Michigan in the O'Rena at 7pm. Pre game tailgating is before the game in the parking lots. Free giveaways and food will be provided. I WILL BE AT THIS GAME, probley updating my blog via my blackberry, so check back if you cannot make the game, Ill have details and the full scoop.

OU is currently on a 14 game winning streak at home, im sure the EMU game will be a change of pace from Hope College but im sure the Grizzlies can pull it off. Eastern didnt beat Oakland in last seasons matches, or the previous season for that matter. EMU is only predicted to place third in the MAC conference after CMU, and N. Illinois. Eastern has more to prove then OU does, so the challenge will be seeing if the Eagles can keep up witht the OU pace and make it a close match if not a victory.

Media Day, Preseason Dreams

Last week Oakland University held an open practice/media day in the O'Rena. The offical transcript can be found at:

http://www.ougrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102909aab.html

Media days are cool, dont get me wrong, but they really dont tell us, or maye just ME, that much. Kampe told us what we already know, Keith Benson "KITO" is projected to go the league{ive heard first round}, Jonathan Jones "JJ", Larry Wright {LARRY ;-)} and Derick Nelson "DNEL" are going to be key in the this years team. The team is ranked number 1 in the Summit league and the above mention players are ranked at the top of the Summit League and All American.

Who didnt already know that?

Only thing from media that actually caught my eye was the mention of Will Hudson being the most improved. I know in previous years, Will was a GREAT player and was a key player. Kampe pointed out that he is no longer "that big country guy who says 'Gee Coach, what do i do now'". Will have had moments where he seemed overwhelmed by the game. Im glad to see that he is improving and now knows his roles. Will does have the potiental to become a GREAT PLAYER and I hope to see that this season in Will.

Oakland has a GOOD BENCH. In the hype of Jonathan, Kieth and Derick, we may have forgotten about other key players from last seasons team. Blake Cushingberry and Drew Maynard are key in the mix as well. The two freshman had a GOOD season last year. Both started at thier position in alot of games and were able to step it up from the high school level, keeping up with the much faster pace. Kampe said himself that the two would probley start anywhere else. So lets not forget about the TEAM as a WHOLE.

OU has a Preseason game next week Tuesday at 7pm againest Hope College in the O'Rena. I am looking forward to this game because we will FINALLY get to see what everybody has been talking about on the court. We will get to see what we missed last year in Derick and if he is fully recovered. Im sure Derick is fully recovered, his injuries were over a year ago and I know that Kampe wouldnt play him if he wasnt 100%, not worth the risk.

The Grizzlies will also take on Eastern Michigan Saturday Nov. 14 in regular season play at 7pm in the O'Rena. Is anybody else glad that we get to see the Grizzlies HOME in our season opener? Make sure that you guys come and support our team and where you GRIZZ GANG shirts. [I suggest that you sign up for Grizz Gang if you havent already, because who doesnt like a FREE tee shirt and dibs on tickets to select away games?]

Sidenote: Im still waiting to hear who got REDSHIRTED for the season, but AS SOON as I know, you all will know!

Offense Sells Tickets, Defense Wins Games

"Offense Sells Tickets,

Defense Wins Games"

--Rasheed Wallace

Famous quote from Rasheed Wallace. While everybody jokes about him and his quotes, most of them, actually make sense.

Everybody's been asking me about the 2009/2010 basketball season, which inspired a completely random blog about some thoughts and points about the season.

The team im deciding to follow closely is: the Celtics.

The Celtics have caught my attention this year. I must admit, I was not a big Celtics fan last season because I rooted for the home team, The Pistons. But this season, my heart goes to Boston. You have to look at the past few games they have played to see why.

Thier defense is simply AMAZING. Just looking at Fridays game againest the Bulls alone, you can see why. The final score was 118-90. The bulls offense was not strong enough to handle the team. The Celtics at one point had a 30 point led. The bulls are NOT a bad team either, recall from last years championship run, the Bulls were thier right along side Boston. Defensively, you have several players who have NO PROBLEM grabbing a loose ball, blocking a shot, and just being where they need to be. Paul Pierce is averaging around 20 points a game. Againest the bulls he had eight rebounds and four assist only playing around 30 minutes {Doc took out the starters early and let the bench have some fun}. I like that Pierce can play both sides of the game {he also grabbed 11 rebounds and several blocks againest Cleveland}.

Boston has veterns who can get the JOB DONE, one who stands out, is RASHEED WALLACE. He could possibly be the best 6th man in the League. Wallace coming off the bench is very important with the Celtics. He is a great defensive player, who can also hit a 22feet three point jumper when he needs to. He has been in the league a while and at age 36 people question whether he still has "IT", if the few games we've seen him play in are any indication of his status, HE CAN STILL BE VITAL FOR THE TEAM. Also you have Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. I really dont even need to elaborate further on those two, if your a fan of the game, YOU ALREADY KNOW those two are talented players.

The Celtics have THE BEST BENCH. Eddie House came off the bench on Fridays game with 22 points, Sheldon Williams had 10. But besides scorers off the bench, look at rebounds, S. Williams had 10 and two assist! Wallace had three rebounds, two assist. The celtics bench could beat a few teams starters in a game any day. Marquis Daniels can handle the ball like no other, he had four assist, sevin points. {{ Thier GM did a great recruiting job!}}

Rajon Rondo is also very important but he is in contract talks but made it clear he intends to stick around for the season. Doc Rivers refered to him as " The most dominate plateyer on the floor" and he IS. Rondo only scored 2 points in the last game, BUT if you watched the game, and not just read the stats, you KNOW why hes important. He had a HIGH of 16 assist and eight rebounds. Rondo is a YOUNG player, only 22, but with experience and great peole to watch and study [[KG, Ray Allen, Rasheed, to name a few]] he will become a better player.

At the end of the Day though. . . . . .

"THE BALL DONT LIE"

-Rasheed Wallace

Preseason Predictions

FINALLY! NCCA Men's Basketball season has arrived. We all now have something to watch on a random Wednesday night instead of another Flavor of Love or Rock of Love on VHI [[Not that I didnt enjoy those shows....]].

Oakland University is one of my favorites in the Summit League, not because I attend Oakland University and know the team, but because they have some of the best recruits in the league and have mass amounts of talent on the court.

With the upcoming seasons predictions about the Summit League have been made. The Grizzlies were selected as the league's Best Team and Jonathan Jones has also been selected as Player of the Year via on line preseason poll on the Summit Leagues website.

In Sports News Magizine, they ranked Oakland University as a FAVORITE of the league. They also ranked Junior Kieth Benson as the TOP player, Larry Wright as the best new comer, Jones and Derrick Nelson to the Preseason All League Team { also naming Benson}.

In the league you do have other teams to watch. Oral Roberts has Kevin Ford and Dominique Morrison, both who are on the preseason all team. The two each average around nine points a game. Morrison was also ranked second on top scoring freshman last year. Oral Roberts always come to play and win when they face the Grizzlies, they might give OU a challenge this year. [[Last Season OU beat them the first game, BAD, 81-69, but the second game OU lost 68-65, it was a very close match.]]





Links to Check Out:

http://www.thesummitleague.org/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=21767&SPID=1768&DB_OEM_ID=3900&ATCLID=204817103
^^ Summit League Predictions

http://www.ougrizzlies.com/sports/m-baskbl/oakl-m-baskbl-body.html
^^Grizzlies Mens Basketball Offical Home