Oakland Golden Grizzlies - College Hoops 2k8 (PS3)

[ripham23232]

Hello everyone!

After some recent inspiration on this board from SuperJames and Deuce, I have decided to undertake a legacy mode of my own. I am actually doing an open legacy, rather than a closed one, as I wanted to play with one of the small to mid major schools that is relatively local to me.

I will be starting in the 07-08 season, playing as the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the Summit League. I am taking over as head coach Greg Kampe.

As of now, I don't have any house rules. I haven't dusted this game off in a number of years so I'm sure once I get back into the swing of it I may tweak things as I go. I'm also not a HTML whiz, but will try my best to make it fun and eye-catching for the readers.

I plan to post game recaps in a weekly format (in-game weeks). Rankings, standings, etc. will come each in-game month, and recruiting updates will come once the early signing period ends, at the end of in-season recruiting, and at the end of the post-season recruiting. I may adjust that to as things go on.

Thank you and enjoy!

[ripham23232]

As we prepare to start the 2007-08 NCAA Basketball season, here is an in-depth look at the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

Oakland Roster
#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
1	Derick Nelson	SF	6'5"	226	JR	Lansing, MI
2	Peter Bunn	PG	6'1"	165	FR	Lansing, MI
4	Will Hudson	PF	6'9"	220	FR	Verona, WI
11	B-Jay Walker	PG	5'8"	149	SO	Lathrup Village, MI
12	Brandon Cassise	SG	6'3"	207	SR	Walled Lake, MI
20	Shane Lawal	C	6'10"	225	JR	Southfield, MI
23	Johnathon Jones	PG	5'11"	160	SO	Okemos, MI
30	Erik Kangas	SG	6'3"	210	JR	DeWitt, MI
33	Tim Williams	SG	6'2"	200	FR	Pontiac, MI
34	Keith Benson	C	6'11"	230	FR	Farmington Hills, MI
44	Patrick McCloskey	PF	6'8"	229	SR	Marshall, MI
45	Dan Waterstradt	C	6'10"	240	JR	Dearborn Heights, MI
HC	Greg Kampe
AC	Saddi Washington
AC	Jeff Tungate

Oakland Golden Grizzlies Depth Chart - 2007-08
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Jones	Bunn	Walker
SG	Kangas	Cassise	Williams
SF	Nelson
PF	Hudson	McCloskey
C	Waterstradt	Benson	Lawal

The success of the Golden Grizzlies' 2007-08 season will be dictated by two things. The first is how much of the load the backcourt can handle. The Grizzlies will be led by junior wings Derick Nelson and Erik Kangas and sophomore point guard Johnathan Jones. That trio will need to provide much of the firepower night in and night out for the Grizzlies to have a shot at contending for a Summit League championship and any hope of playing in March. The second factor will be the growth and development of a young and raw frontcourt. Dan Waterstradt and Patrick McCloskey are upperclassmen, but the future of the program lies with Will Hudson and Keith Benson. The two freshman will need to adjust to the college game quickly and make a mark immediately in order to ease the pressure on the backcourt.

The schedule won't be forgiving, as the Grizzlies travel to play Xavier and Michigan along with their biggest game of the year, a tilt against top-10 ranked Oregon at home during holiday break for students.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies 2007-08 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 9	at Wisconsin - Green Bay
Nov 17	vs Eastern Michigan
Nov 20	vs Duquesne
Nov 28	at Xavier
Dec 1	vs Bowling Green
Dec 6	vs Missouri - Kansas City
Dec 8	vs Southern Utah
Dec 12	at Michigan
Dec 22	vs Oregon
Dec 29	at Toledo
Jan 3	at South Dakota State
Jan 5	at North Dakota State
Jan 10	vs Centenary
Jan 12	vs Oral Roberts
Jan 19	at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne
Jan 24	at Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis
Jan 26	at Western Illinois
Jan 31	vs North Dakota State
Feb 2	vs South Dakota State
Feb 7	at Oral Roberts
Feb 9	at Centenary
Feb 12	vs Western Illinois
Feb 16	vs Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne
Feb 21	vs Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis
Feb 28	at Southern Utah
Mar 1	at Missouri - Kansas City

[ripham23232]

The national landscape is laden with teams hoping for a shot to cut down the nets on the first Monday of April. The initial Top 25 poll was released recently:

NCAA Hoops Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Nov 9, 2007
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	RECORD
1	--	North Carolina	0-0
2	--	Memphis	2-0
3	--	Kansas	1-0
4	--	Michigan State	0-0
5	--	Louisville	0-0
6	--	Georgetown	0-0
7	--	UCLA	1-0
8	--	Duke	0-0
9	--	Oregon	0-0
10	--	Marquette	0-0
11	--	Tennessee	1-0
12	--	Wisconsin	0-0
13	--	Arizona	0-0
14	--	Texas A&M	1-0
15	--	Pittsburgh	0-0
16	--	Kentucky	2-0
17	--	Texas	0-0
18	--	Ohio State	0-0
19	--	Indiana	0-0
20	--	Florida State	1-0
21	--	Illinois	0-0
22	--	Syracuse	0-0
23	--	Clemson	0-0
24	--	Arkansas	1-0
25	--	Xavier	0-0

North Carolina is the current number one team in the country, with the dreams of the university riding on the thick shoulders of National Player of the Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough. Memphis, Kansas, Michigan State, and Louisville round out the top 5.

[dfsJunkie]

Excited to see how this plays out. Iirc Keith Benson was supposed to be a pretty good low post player.

[ripham23232]

Quote: Originally Posted by dfsJunkie

Excited to see how this plays out. Iirc Keith Benson was supposed to be a pretty good low post player.

He turned into a really talented player in his career at Oakland. He was mid-major player of the year his junior season and back to back Summit League player of the year his junior and senior season. He's played in Europe and the D/G league.

Hoping he progresses well in this game. I believe he is rated in the mid 50's overall right now, so he's going to need a lot of growth.

[ripham23232]

OAKLAND LOSES SEASON OPENER TO GREEN BAY

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies opened the 2007-08 campaign on the road against a Wisconsin-Green Bay team on Friday, November 9th. In what was a disappointing finish, the Phoenix outlasted the Grizzlies 61-54. The Golden Grizzlies took a three point lead into the locker room at half, riding the hot shooting of Erik Kangas, who was named Player of the Half with 11 points. Unfortunately, he would only add 5 points in the second half and no one else would join him in double figures.

The Grizzlies stymied SF Terry Evans, the star of Green Bay's lineup, but couldn't account for the perimeter play of Mike Schachter and Troy Cotton.

We caught up with Head Coach Greg Kampe after the team returned to campus Saturday:

Q: Coach, Green Bay seemed to have their way out there last night. Describe what you saw.
Coach Kampe: Well, it was a disappointing effort overall. We effectively shut down Evans, but their secondary options shot lights out. They found ways to penetrate or shoot mid-range jumpers and we didn't have an answer.

Q: Erik Kangas carried the offense for you. What needs to happen to get Nelson more involved?
Coach Kampe: We're going to have to execute more motion to get Nelson moving around more. There was too much standing around on offense and our guards and wings weren't creating opportunities. For us to have any success, we need to run off picks and screens to create space for our shooters. We also need to force turnovers and get out in transition. We forced one turnover all game. It's terrible and inexcusable.

Q: What positives did you find in this season opener?
Coach Kampe: Well I was impressed by Keith Benson's effort coming off the bench. He played with some energy and provided us a punch late in the first half. We may have to find him some more minutes if he keeps that up. Kangas of course shot well, but seemed fatigue towards the end.

Q: Thanks Coach.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Green Bay Phoenix
Nov 9, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Oakland (0-1)	33	21	54
Green Bay (1-0)	30	31	61

Oakland Golden Grizzlies
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jones	20	2-4	0-2	1-2	2	4	0	0	2	5
Kangas	20	6-12	4-8	0-0	0	4	0	0	1	16
Nelson	20	3-5	0-0	0-0	7	4	0	0	3	6
Hudson	16	3-4	0-1	0-1	2	2	0	0	2	6
Waterstradt	16	4-6	0-0	0-0	4	0	0	0	1	8
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Cassise	11	1-2	1-2	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	3
Williams	3	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bunn	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Benson	10	3-4	0-0	1-1	2	1	0	1	0	7
McCloskey	9	1-1	0-0	1-1	2	1	0	0	0	3
Walker	DNP
Lawal	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		23-40	5-14	3-5	20	17	1	1	10	54

Green Bay Phoenix
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Fletcher	24	5-7	1-2	2-4	1	3	4	0	0	13
Cotton	20	7-12	1-2	3-4	2	2	0	0	0	18
Evans	25	1-10	0-3	2-2	4	4	1	1	0	4
Schachtner	23	5-10	1-2	0-0	6	2	2	0	0	11
Morris	20	2-3	0-0	2-2	7	2	1	0	0	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Perine	6	2-4	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	4
Tillema	3	2-2	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Henley	6	0-1	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Berry	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	1	0
Segura	DNP
Barkley	DNP
Berry	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		24-49	4-11	9-12	23	14	9	1	1	61

Well, that is all the time we have for today's show. Next week, the Golden Grizzlies host the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday, November 17th. We'll cover that and everything else Oakland Basketball on our Sunday Weekly Recap show.

[ripham23232]

OAKLAND WINS HOME OPENER VERSUS EMU

Hello, and welcome fans to The Biz on the Grizz, a weekly show taking you inside the Oakland Golden Grizzlies basketball team. Order was restored this week as Oakland made its home debut inside the O'rena, defeating the Eagles of Eastern Michigan by a score of 62-44.

The Golden Grizzlies were able to spread the floor on offense much better than their last game against Green Bay, and fired on all cylinders. The team as whole shot 57% from the floor in a much more efficient manner. Leading the way for Oakland was Erik Kangas, with 14 points on 6 for 11 shooting. Big man Dan Waterstradt led the way inside, adding 13 points and 7 rebounds. While star Derick Nelson was still limited in the offense, he did lead the team in boards with eight. Point Guard Johnathan Jones added eight points and nine assists.

Eastern Michigan could not muster much offense against the stout defense of the Grizzlies, settling for outside shots on many possessions. The Eagles only connected on 34% of their shots, including going 3/17 from behind the arc.

Eastern Michigan Eagles at Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Nov 17, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Eastern Michigan (0-3)	19	25	44
Oakland (1-1)	34	28	62

Eastern Michigan Eagles
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Medlock	24	1-8	0-4	2-2	0	4	1	0	1	4
Bunkley	19	5-15	3-9	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	13
Farrow	22	3-8	0-3	2-2	4	0	1	0	0	8
Skipper	19	3-8	0-3	2-2	9	2	0	0	0	6
Dobbins	21	4-4	0-0	0-0	6	0	2	0	0	8
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Lewis	13	2-4	0-1	1-2	0	0	0	0	0	5
Axon	12	0-4	0-0	0-0	2	3	0	0	1	0
Gay	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cooper	DNP
Farris	DNP
Frazier	DNP
Banjanin	DNP
TEAM TOTALS		17-50	3-17	7-8	21	11	4	0	2	44
TEAM TOTALS		17-50	3-17	7-8	21	11	4	0	2	44

Oakland Golden Grizzlies
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jones	23	3-6	0-1	2-2	2	9	0	0	3	8
Kangas	20	6-11	2-4	0-0	3	2	0	0	1	14
Nelson	17	3-6	0-0	1-2	8	2	0	0	0	7
Hudson	18	4-4	0-0	1-2	4	1	0	0	1	9
Waterstradt	18	6-10	0-0	1-1	7	2	0	1	0	13
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Cassise	11	2-5	0-3	0-1	0	0	0	0	0	4
Williams	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Bunn	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Benson	14	1-3	0-0	0-0	6	0	2	0	1	2
McCloskey	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Walker	1	1-1	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Lawal	1	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
TEAM TOTALS		27-47	3-9	5-7	32	20	2	1	6	62

Here are Coach Kampe's thoughts on the win:

Quote:

It was a much better performance for our guys today. Maybe playing at home helped, but I saw more effort on defense and more movement and creativity on offense. The big fellas helped out. Waterstradt, Hudson, and Benson all were involved moving the ball and hitting the glass and I think it energized the team. We'll need that to continue and probably even more from everyone as we get deeper into the schedule.

The Grizzlies again play one game next week, a Tuesday night contest against the Duquesne Dukes of the Atlantic 10. The Dukes are off to a 3-0 start and are led by their frontcourt. Center Kieron Achara leads the team in scoring with 20.3 points per game. Shawn James plays power forward an is currently averaging a double-double on the young season with 10.7 ppg and 10.0 rebounds.

That will do it for this week's edition of The Biz on the Grizz. We'll see you next week.

[ripham23232]

Hello and welcome to the third week of the college basketball season. This is Biz on the Grizz, the weekly recap show featuring all things relating to the Golden Grizzlies' basketball program.

It was a tough week on the campus of Oakland University, as the men's basketball team had one game scheduled. There was a buzz around campus on Tuesday as the Duquesne Dukes came to town in what was going to be one of the top home games of the year. Unfortunately, only the Dukes showed up for this one.

Duquesne got out to an early lead and never let up. The Dukes could not miss in the first half, shooting 78.2% from the field in the first 20 minutes of action. Coming into the game, the Dukes had been relient on their big frontcourt of Shawn James and Kieron Achara, but this game was anything but. The backcourt led the effort here, and James and Achara were both quiet for most of the night.

On the other side of the court, the Grizzlies were led in scoring by Erik Kangas, netting 21 total points. Much of the Grizzlies offense was provided well after the game had been decided, with the team going on a strong run in garbage time of the second half.

We caught up with Coach Kampe after the game:

Quote:

Well, this one was embarrassing. No bones about it, that's a good team, but we laid an absolute egg. We had a chance to play a quality team and impress our fans a little bit early in the year, and frankly, I'd be shocked if we had any fans after that one. Just a terrible performance tonight.

No doubt the Grizzlies will be putting forth some extra effort in practice this week.

Duquesne Dukes at Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Nov 20, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Duquesne (4-0)	49	33	82
Oakland (1-2)	23	38	61

Duquesne Dukes
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
A. Jackson	11	4-6	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	8
Mensah	9	3-4	1-2	0-0	0	0	2	0	1	7
Tucker	11	7-8	2-2	0-0	1	2	0	0	0	16
James	11	2-2	0-0	0-0	7	0	2	3	0	4
Achara	7	3-4	0-0	0-0	2	3	1	0	0	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
R. Jackson	17	5-6	0-0	2-2	1	9	2	0	1	12
Fayne	11	1-4	1-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	3
Clark	11	6-12	1-6	1-1	2	0	0	0	0	14
Wood	6	3-4	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	6
Newton	7	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	2
Theis	18	1-5	0-0	0-0	3	2	1	1	0	2
Harris	12	0-0	0-0	2-2	4	1	0	1	1	2
TEAM TOTALS		36-57	5-15	5-5	21	20	8	5	5	82
TEAM TOTALS		36-57	5-15	5-5	21	20	8	5	5	82

Oakland Golden Grizzlies
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Jones	19	3-8	0-2	0-0	1	5	0	1	3	6
Kangas	16	9-16	1-4	2-2	2	0	0	0	2	21
Nelson	18	3-6	1-2	2-2	2	0	1	0	1	9
Hudson	19	1-3	0-0	0-0	5	4	1	0	1	2
Waterstradt	16	2-3	0-0	1-2	2	2	1	2	0	5
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Cassise	12	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Williams	5	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	2	1	0	0	2
Bunn	7	3-3	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	6
Benson	9	4-6	0-0	0-2	0	0	0	0	1	8
McCloskey	7	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	2
Walker	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Lawal	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		27-49	2-9	5-8	16	16	5	3	9	61

The schedule picks up next week, as Oakland travels to Cincinnati to face the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday and then opens the month of December back at home vs. the Falcons of Bowling Green on Saturday.

Tune in next week to see how the Golden Grizzlies rebound. This has been Biz on the Grizz, good night all!