Mid-Con Notebook 1/24/2007(TW)

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Mid-Continent Notebook: Old school

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

1/24/2007

Two years after inflicting Oral Roberts University's most painful basketball loss, the Oakland (Mich.) Golden Grizzlies are back to test the Golden Eagles again.

Playing the hard-nosed defense coach Greg Kampe has taught for most of his 23 years at the suburban Detroit school, the Grizzlies are tied with ORU atop the Mid-Continent Conference as they visit the Mabee Center on Thursday night.

"People who like our team say it's because it is hard-nosed, like some of the teams we had when we first came into the league," Kampe said.

With smooth operators like Mike Helms (2000-04) and Rawle Marshall (2002-05), the Grizzlies got away from playing man-to-man defense in recent years -- and have paid the price.

Their 2003-04 team, picked to win the league, lost a succession of heartbreakers and finished eighth. Even the Marshall-led team that upset ORU in the 2005 Mid-Con final went 9-18 in the regular season.

Defense was nonexistent last year when Kampe started all over with five first-time starters. The Grizzlies allowed 272 3-pointers -- almost 10 per game, including an astronomical 82 in a six-game stretch.

In comparison this season, they have given up roughly half as many treys and 11 points fewer 

per game.

Veteran scorers returned, and freshman point guard Jonathon Jones has unified the mix.

"We hadn't had a true point guard in several years. We tried to play with shooting guards and couldn't win, so our No. 1 priority was to get a quality point guard and we got the best one in the state of Michigan. Now our guys get the ball in position to score," Kampe said.

Senior forward Vova Severovas (14.0 ppg), a preseason all-league selection, scores slightly less than last season, but has more help, with four teammates averaging 8.7 or more.

Sophomore Erik Kangas is eighth nationally in 3-point percentage (46.3). He made eight treys in a 78-60 win over Missouri-Kansas City last weekend and has 68 overall.

Clear as glass: Rebounding will decide the ORU-Oakland matchup, said head coach Ron Hunter of Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis. Oakland leads the league in rebound margin (+5.5) and ORU is second (+3.2).

"Oakland does a great job of rebounding. If you're going to beat them, you're going to have to beat them on the glass," Hunter said.

Medical ward: Hunter's IUPUI team tied ORU for last year's regular-season crown, but hasn't been the same since injuries started mounting.

All-league guard George Hill broke his foot and played only five games before Hunter decided to seek a medical redshirt. Matt Burks, Drew Conner and Gary Patterson have also been sidelined, although Hunter expects one or more back for Saturday's game at ORU.

Seniors David Barlow and Angelo Smith have soldiered on and sophomore Craig Swoope has picked up the slack. He scored 22 in last week's 77-72 win over UMKC, Hunter's 200th at the IUPUI helm.

Good to go: Valparaiso University announced Monday that the NCAA has finally resolved the eligibility case in favor of freshman guard Paul Guede. With two-thirds of the season gone, the 6-foot-5 Guede has decided to redshirt, the school announced.

According to the Northwest Indiana Times, the London-born Guede's problems started when he took the General Certificate of Secondary Education test after his ninth-grade year in England, before he enrolled at Grace Christian School in North Carolina to continue high school.

Valpo assistant Bryce Drew said the test was compulsory at Guede's school. But the NCAA views the test as the equivalent of the American General Educational Development test, the NWI Times reported.

"Basically, the NCAA thinks that Paul graduated from high school when he was 15," Grace Christian basketball coach Tim Murr told the NWI Times.