Oakland Golden Grizzlies
2019-2020 Overall Rank: #116
Conference Rank: #1 Horizon
Oakland has been a very solid program under the leadership of long time head coach Greg Kampe. Last season the Golden Grizzlies finished a respectable third in the Horizon League. This year could be difficult with some unexpected departures, but Coach Kampe has a core group to rebuild around. And Coach Kampe always does a good job of bringing in the players he needs to remain competitive.
2018-19 Record: 16-17, 11-7
2018-19 Postseason: None
Coach: Greg Kampe
Coach Record: 618-455 at Oakland, 618-455 overall
Key Departed Players:
Braden Norris, Guard, 8.4 ppg
Stan Scott, Guard, 0.9 ppg
Karmari Newman, Guard, 9.4 ppg
Jaevin Cumberland, Guard, 17.2 ppg
James Beck, Forward, 4.6 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Xavier Hill-Mais, Senior, Forward, 18.3 ppg
Brad Brechting, Senior, Center, 9.5 ppg
Tray Maddox Jr, Sophomore, Guard, 6.7 ppg
Kenny Pittman, Sophomore, Guard, 0.5 ppg
Babatunde Sowunmi, Sophomore, Center, 0.3 ppg
Key New Players:
Kevin Kangu, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Daniel Oladapo, Sophomore, Forward, JC Transfer
CJ Gettelfinger, Freshman, Guard
Emmanuel Newsome, Freshman, Guard
Zach Goodline, Freshman, Guard
Jackson Harris, Freshman, Forward
Yusuf Jihad, Freshman, Forward
Rashad Williams, Sophomore, Guard, Transfer from Cleveland State, not eligible
Projection:
The frontcourt is in good hands with Xavier Hill-Mais and Brad Brechting. Hill-Mais led the Golden Grizzlies with 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds. He will again start at the power forward position and also play the five spot when Oakland runs a smaller lineup. Brechting added 9.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Sophomore Babatunde Sowunmi has a lot of potential, but he barely saw the floor as a freshman. Junior college transfer Daniel Oladapo brings more experience and has plenty of upside. The group on the perimeter has more concerns. Tray Maddox started as a freshman and will quickly have to turn into the leader of the new look backcourt. Kenny Pittman and junior college transfer Kevin Kangu could emerge as the team’s top outside shooting threats. Maddox can hit some long balls, but this team definitely needs a consistent shooter or two. Oakland also needs a steady ballhandler if they are going to compete for a Horizon League title. Freshmen CJ Gettelfinger and Emmanuel Newsome will likely have to fill that role. If they make too many freshmen mistakes, Oakland could be in trouble. But by January, Coach Kampe will have his rotation set and he has enough talent to work with to make this a very dangerous team in conference play.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.7 (71st in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 76.2 (287, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.4 (62, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 46.1 (301, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.5 (32, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.5 (17, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.2 (63, 2)
Rebound Margin: -3.6 (313, 8)
Assists Per Game: 17.6 (8, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.9 (176, 5)
