By Jaela Johnson | @jae_Jamirah
Sports Capital Journalism Program
INDIANPOLIS — The process to become great and leave a legacy takes time, faith, and patience. Near the end of his 40th season as the coach of Oakland men’s basketball, the most seasons with his current school in Division I, Greg Kampe thought about how lucky he has been to coach the 2023-24 Grizzlies, the Horizon League tournament champions.
“They care about each other,” Kampe said after his team’s 83-76 victory over Milwaukee gave Oakland its first Horizon League tournament championship. “I’ve never coached a team one through 15 … there is not a clique on this team. There is no three guys going this way, they are together everywhere they go.” The young men on this team are writing their legacy game by game, headed to the NCAA tournament for the school’s fourth appearance and first since 2011.
Senior forward Trey Townsend, first-team All-Horizon League and tournament Most Valuable Player, grew up attending Oakland men’s basketball games. Townsend scored 38 points to lead Oakland to the championship.
“Growing up, you know I went to the two tournament games in 2010, 2011 and always dreamed of playing for this school,” Townsend said. “I never thought that you know I’d have an impact like I’ve had especially this year.” He watched Kampe coach his 2011 Grizzlies to a Summit League championship to advance to the NCAA tournament. The moment Townsend shared with his father, who also played under Kampe, foreshadowed the legacy of current events that Townsend and Kampe have hoped to imprint on the Oakland community.
“Oakland basketball has been ingrained in me as a person my entire life,” said Townsend. He described winning this championship with coach Kampe “such a crazy thing,” considering the fact he used to dream of this moment and now it had become his reality.
During Townsend’s freshman season in 2020, Oakland lost to Xavier 101-49. In 2021 the Grizzlies reached the league championship game, losing to top-seeded Cleveland State 80-69. But this was all a part of the journey and faith Kampe had in his team and the patience it took for players like Townsend and Blake Lampman to develop in such an efficient system.
“It sort of feels like we are writing all the wrongs that happened then,” said Townsend. After an early-season victory over Xavier late last year, Oakland won the Horizon League regular-season title.
In the championship game, Townsend set the pace for Oakland scoring 27 second-half points and dominating the paint. In the second half with 8:24 to play, Townsend was fouled by Kentrell Pullian of Milwaukee with Oakland ahead 60-58. Kampe remembered the conversation during the timeout.
“Jack Gohlke grabs me and said, ‘This is Trey T’s moment. The ball goes to him!’”
Kampe went on to describe how Lampman backed Gohlke up “beating on people and saying to people, ‘This is Trey T’s moment. The ball goes to him!’”
That was the plan that led to a championship. Townsend finished with the game with 38 points, and each basket in the final minutes appeared to suck the life out of Milwaukee.
The Grizzlies had become the tournament champion after winning the regular-season title.
“And I can’t tell you how hard that is,” Kampe said.
