By Samantha Franz

After notching a Division I school record of 19 wins last season and making an appearance in the Summit League Championship game, Oakland University’s men’s basketball began to gain a following.

Mario Impemba, best known for being the voice of the Detroit Tigers on FSN Detroit, also became the voice of the Golden Grizzlies. 

Multiple OU games also were broadcast on both the local and national scales, including ESPN U, FSN and the Big Ten Network. These media outlets would all be present to capture an Oakland University season full of twists and turns. 

It all began with Summit League preseason first team member junior Erik Kangas going down with a broken collarbone in the opening game of the season against Wisconsin-Green Bay, sitting out for five games this season and playing limited minutes in other contests as a result.

From there came a grueling non-conference schedule against a series of top-25 teams, all of whom are currently competing in the NCAA tournament. 

The Golden Grizzlies nearly pulled off the upset at the Breslin Center with a 75-71 loss to the then 10-ranked Spartans Nov. 24, fell 93-68 to the then 23rd ranked Xavier Musketeers four days later and made program history Dec. 22 by defeating Oregon University, 68-62 in OU’s first-ever defeat over a top-25 team. 

The Golden Grizzlies couldn’t get an extended win streak off the ground during the conference season, never winning more than three games in a row. They finished with an 11-7 conference record, good enough for the third seed in the Summit League Championship Tournament. 

As dreams of Tulsa, Okla. loomed, then came the speculation surrounding senior Brandon Cassise. 

After not traveling with the team the last month of the season, fans began to wonder if the clutch-shooter would be on the Summit League tournament roster at all. 

Fears were confirmed when university athletics confirmed that the guard would not be allowed to travel to Tulsa, Okla. due to a violation of probation. 

With senior leadership resting on the shoulders of lone senior Patrick McCloskey, the only Golden Grizzly from the 2005 conference championship season, OU had to roll with the punches and work with what they had. 

The Golden Grizzlies coasted to a quarterfinal round victory over the sixth-seeded Western Illinois, 80-66 March 9, but couldn’t overcome second-seeded IUPUI in the semifinals the next day and were sent home on the next flight to Rochester with an 80-65 defeat. 

They’re a better basketball team than we were tonight, and they played very well,” head coach Greg Kampe said after the loss. “This is the game that scared me more than any other game here because of the defense they play and we were going to struggle against it.”

Overall, Oakland finished the season with a 17-14 record and are only losing one player in McCloskey. 

The Golden Grizzlies have already signed three recruits that look to make an impact on the their roster. 

Lake Orion’s Drew Maynard, Romeo High School’s Blake Cushingberry and Port Huron’s Jay Thames are all ranked in the Top-10 of Bankhoops.com’s 2008 Michigan basketball recruit rankings. 

So while the men may not have punched their’ ticket to the Big Dance this season, they have a cast of key returning players, as well as some fresh faces, that will surely be making noise in the 2008-09 season.