There was a point this season when it appeared Drew Valentine had fallen victim to a classic case of the sophomore slump. Turnovers and mental lapses made it difficult for Oakland University men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe to keep Valentine on the court, despite his conviction that he’d eventually become a star.

Kampe thought Valentine was trying too hard to make his presence known on the court and needed to let the game come to him rather than pressing to make an impact.

“I was really disappointed with him in the preseason because I expected him to fight for a starting position right out of the gate based on how much I liked his freshman year,” Kampe said. “Lately Drew has gone through a maturation process where he’s had to grow and learn.”

Fast forward to February and it’s difficult to imagine the Golden Grizzlies still being undefeated in the Summit League without Valentine’s emergence as a dynamic all-around contributor.

Valentine’s primary role was born out of necessity when junior Blake Cushingberry suffered a season-ending knee injury just days before the season started. The plan was for Cushingberry to step into the defensive stopper role that Derick Nelson occupied last season, but the injury quickly gave the team an early adversity to overcome.

On the eve of the exhibition opener, Kampe admitted that the biggest question mark facing the team was whether a consistent lockdown defender would emerge.

Enter Valentine.

Challenged with the task of guarding the premier perimeter players in the conference, Valentine has steadily risen to the occasion and quieted some of the defensive concerns the coaching staff had.

“Being in the starting lineup, the coaches put me out there to defend against (Dominique) Morrison, (Michael) Tveidt, and a lot of other good players,” Valentine said. “There’s a extra little pressure, but I thrive off it and embrace it. It’s easy for me to go out there now knowing that the coaches have a lot of confidence in me.”

With a sense of security in the starting five, Valentine has had an opportunity to relax knowing that a single error won’t shake Kampe’s confidence and earn him another trip to the bench.

“I’m not as tentative and I’m more comfortable with going out there and making plays,” he said. “If I make a mistake I’m not insecure anymore about going back out there and being aggressive to make the next play.”

Despite his knack for defense, Valentine said he finds greater satisfaction in another aspect of his game.

“I take the most pride in rebounding because of the effort involved,” Valentine said. “It’s all about effort, heart and hustle, and rebounding is not something that everybody does, especially from a perimeter position. You don’t see too many guys going out there getting double-doubles, so I like that.”

With an average of 7.6 rebounds in 11 Summit League games this season, Valentine has given Oakland a third player that’s adept on the boards.

“There’s so much emphasis by the other teams put on Benson and Hudson that there’s some avenues to the basket to rebound and he’s taken advantage of that,” Kampe said.

Kampe describes Valentine as a prototypical garbage player, using it in a positive sense.

“Those are the types of players you win games with. Every facet of his game is pretty good and the thing that makes him so good is his work ethic. He’s tremendous with that, being in the gym all the time,” Kampe said.

And if defense and rebounding can be considered skills 1a and 1b, then Valentine’s 3-point shooting follows as a close third.

Prior to having his streak snapped against Centenary on Saturday, Valentine had reached double-digit points in eight consecutive games, with three double-doubles during that span.

Connecting on over 56 percent (18-of-32) of his 3-point attempts in conference play, he ranks second on the team overall and among the leaders in the Summit League.

Last season, however, he finished with the lowest percentage from behind the arc on the team, which begs the question of how he managed such a dramatic turnaround.

“When I was in high school and when I first got here I wasn’t a very good 3-point shooter,” Valentine said. “James Hellekjaer, our video (coordinator), said when I got here that we have to make this happen so I can become a great shooter. So I’ve been working really hard on that shot.”

Oakland’s recruitment of Valentine two years ago was made possible by a knee injury he suffered while playing football at Sexton High School in Lansing. Many of the universities that were interested in signing Valentine backed off due to the injury, allowing OU to swoop in.

“Drew was a kid that when we got him last year, we liked him and thought he’d be good for us,” Kampe said. “But once we got him here he’s been even better than we expected.”

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Dan Fenner is the Senior Editor of The Oakland Post and covers Oakland University basketball.  You can follow him on Twitter @DanFenner for updates and analysis throughout the week.