Oakland Coach Has Reasons for Thinking UK Was Best Matchup for the Golden Grizzles

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I like an honest coach who is not afraid to say what he really believes and that’s what Oakland coach Greg Kampe did Monday in an interview with 97.1 (FM) The Ticket, a Detroit sports radio station.

Kampe’s team plays Kentucky on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh. Kampe has coached for 40 years and is a long-time friend of Kentucky coach John Calipari.

While the Golden Grizzles are a solid underdog against No. 3 seed UK, Kampe doesn’t mind the matchup and shared his reasons why.

“The matchup is really important. For me, this was the best matchup I think we could get as we were trying to figure it all out. I thought we would be on the 13-seed line because based on criteria that’s where I thought we were going to fall. The seeding of the tournament this year was so crazy, I’m just happy we’re in it. So I’m not going to complain,” Kampe said during his radio interview.

“But if I could have picked a team that we were — I didn’t want to play Iowa State after watching them play Houston, I didn’t want to play Creighton because of their ability to shoot. I just thought Kentucky was the best matchup for us for a couple of reasons.

“One is this is primetime, we get to play at 7 o’clock on CBS with the A-team on the telecast, all of that stuff. That’s what you want when you’re in this, you want your kids to have a chance to be in the spotlight. That was number one.”

Want more? He had more logic for why this was Oakland’s best matchup.

“Number two, you got maybe the biggest blue blood of them all. You’ve got a coach that — I think the guy in East Lansing (Tom Izzo) is the best coach in the country, but Cal is right there with him,” Kampe said.

Then he added another reason that Kentucky fans know is true.

“Then most importantly, they don’t score in the post. For a mid-major, that’s an Achilles heel when you play teams that can score in the post. It really affects you defensively,” the coach said.

“So since they don’t score in the post, our ability to maybe guard the 3 and to keep the game slow, we have a chance. We really do, if we can keep the game slow and take the 3 away from them.”

Kampe knew Thursday that his Wednesday radio comment had been misconstrued by some, especially in Kentucky. He said his words were a “compliment” to Kentucky.

“You haven’t seen Oakland play at Rupp Arena. We play everywhere in the country. We haven’t been there because of the friendship (with John Calipari). But getting Kentucky in this tournament is the greatest thing for Oakland because we cut the nets down in our league tournament. We got to stand under the confetti. We got our moment, and now this is all house money,” he said.

“So we come into this tournament, wouldn’t you want the spotlight to play the best? The reason this is such a good matchup for us is because you’re the best. Kentucky is known as the best program — it’s arguable, but many, many people — you have the greatest fanbase in the country. There’s no argument with that.

“(Michigan State coach Tom) Izzo and he to me are the two best coaches in the country, and we’re playing at prime time, 7, CBS. We’re not on TRU or whatever. We’re on CBS at 7. Why wouldn’t Oakland want that? This is our time to step into the spotlight and shine.

‘Now, could we fall on our face? Sure we could. But why would we want to run from that? Why would I want to play some team that we might have a better chance to beat, right? I want the best, and we got the best. So that’s what those comments were meant to be.”