March Insanity is all in regards to the gamers who’ve the chance to make reminiscences that final a lifetime. Simply do not forget in regards to the coaches, too.
Jack Gohlke was admittedly the star of Oakland’s upset of No. Three Kentucky on Thursday night time, however no particular person was maybe extra deserving of the second than coach Greg Kampe, whose journey with the Golden Grizzlies began lengthy earlier than anybody on the courtroom was born.
Kampe is in his 40th season at Oakland, and what higher technique to have a good time 4 many years than successful an NCAA Match sport over some of the recognizable manufacturers within the sport?
RELATED: Meet Jack Gohlke, Oakland sharpshooter who helped slay Kentucky
Whereas some coaches are superstitious, Kampe has been round lengthy sufficient to easily be sincere in regards to the second. He instructed reporters on Wednesday {that a} win would change his gamers’ lives, calling the match “one of many three best sporting occasions on the planet” due to that chance. Mission completed.
Oakland coach Greg Kampe: “We’ve an opportunity to alter my gamers’ lives. If we win tomorrow night time, it’s going to change my gamers’ lives.”
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) March 20, 2024
This is a more in-depth have a look at Kampe’s profession timeline and age as Oakland prepares for the second spherical.
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Greg Kampe teaching timeline
1984 — Employed by Oakland
Oakland, then a Division II program, employed Kampe away from Toledo forward of the 1984-85 season. Kampe was simply 28 on the time, making him a remarkably daring rent for a Golden Grizzlies program that was nonetheless making an attempt to climb its approach as much as the very best stage of the game.
Kampe was an assistant coach at Toledo for six seasons, so Oakland represented his first head teaching alternative.
1999 — Soar to Division I
Oakland discovered a rhythm between 1993 and 1997, successful not less than 20 video games in 4 consecutive seasons and getting so far as the Division II Candy 16. That set the stage for this system to make the bounce to the Division I stage in 1999, a testomony to Kampe’s elevation of this system.
Kampe gained 262 video games on the Division II stage, together with 27 as an impartial. Oakland joined the Mid-Continent Convention, later renamed the Summit League, after its Division I transition.
2005 — First NCAA Match look
It solely took six Division I seasons for Oakland to succeed in the NCAA Match, although it got here in a season by which the Golden Grizzlies went simply 13-19. A convention match run despatched Oakland to the First 4, the place Kampe picked up his first match win earlier than struggling a 28-point loss to eventual champion North Carolina within the first spherical.
MORE: What number of excellent brackets are left after Kentucky goes down?
2009-10 — Again-to-back NCAA Match appearances
Oakland discovered actual success in 2009 and 2010, reaching the NCAA Match in back-to-back years as Kampe surpassed the quarter-century mark with this system.
The Golden Grizzlies went 51-19 between 2008-09 and 2009-10, although they could not pull off an upset in both match look.
2017 – Life-threatening well being scare
Kampe revealed that he almost died throughout the 2017 offseason after affected by sepsis because of kidney stones. The scare put Kampe within the intensive care unit for 5 days and left him with a fever that might have killed him had he not gone to the hospital the place emergency measures have been taken to chill him down.
The scare got here after a 25-9 season that led to an NIT look, and Kampe elected to proceed teaching regardless of having a strong 33 seasons below his belt.
2024 — NCAA Match upset of Kentucky
Primarily based on his feedback about his gamers on Wednesday, it is honest to label Thursday’s March Insanity upset of Kentucky as the head of Kampe’s profession.
From a basketball perspective, it completely is. Kampe had by no means reached the second spherical of the NCAA Match earlier than the victory, and he now will get to get pleasure from a day in Pittsburgh earlier than making an attempt to earn an unbelievable Candy 16 bid on Saturday.
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
How outdated is Greg Kampe?
Kampe is 68 years outdated. It is laborious for coaches to spend 40 years at one faculty as a result of, nicely, Father Time comes for everybody no matter how a lot success is discovered on the basketball courtroom.
Kampe benefited from getting a head teaching job earlier than he turned 30, a uncommon achievement, and he is left Oakland with no alternative however to maintain him round by steadily taking the Golden Grizzlies program to new heights.
At 68, Kampe is now one of many oldest coaches in school basketball. That hasn’t appeared to matter this season, and it is laborious to think about Kampe is feeling something however younger as Oakland awaits its subsequent NCAA Match battle.
