# 2007–08 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team

The 2007–08 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team represented Oakland University in the 2007–08 college basketball season. Oakland was coached by Greg Kampe and played their home games at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Golden Grizzlies finished the season 17–14 overall and 11–7 in The Summit League. Oakland advanced to the semi-finals of The Summit League tournament before falling to Indiana–Purdue Indianapolis 80–65.

## Season

During the season, Oakland defeated #21 Oregon of the Pacific-10 Conference at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mid-American Conference teams Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green at home and nearly defeated Big Ten Conference member Michigan State on the road, falling 75–71.
At the conclusion of the season, Derick Nelson was named to the all-Summit League First Team while Johnathon Jones was named to the Second Team.

## Roster

| No. | Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown (Previous school) |
| 1 | Derick Nelson | F | 6'5" | 226 | Jr. | Lansing, MI (Bridgton Academy) |
| 2 | Peter Bunn | G | 6'1" | 165 | Fr. | Lansing, MI (Lansing Christian) |
| 4 | Will Hudson | F | 6'9" | 220 | Fr. | Verona, WI (Middleton) |
| 11 | B-Jay Walker | G | 5'8" | 149 | So. | Lathrup Village, MI (Shrine Catholic) |
| 12 | Brandon Cassise | G | 6'3" | 207 | Sr. | Walled Lake, MI (St. Mary's Preparatory) |
| 20 | Shane Lawal | C | 6'10" | 225 | Jr. | Southfield, MI (Lathrup) |
| 21 | Ricky Bieszki | G | 6'2" | 186 | Jr. | Shelby Township, MI (Notre Dame Preparatory) |
| 22 | Ray Goodson | G | 6'1" | 195 | Fr. | Detroit, MI (Pershing) |
| 23 | Johnathon Jones | G | 5'11" | 160 | So. | Okemos, MI (Okemos) |
| 30 | Erik Kangas | G | 6'3" | 210 | Jr. | DeWitt, MI (DeWitt) |
| 32 | John Kast | G | 6'2" | 190 | Fr.-R | Clarkston, MI (Clarkston) |
| 33 | Tim Williams | G | 6'2" | 200 | Fr. | Pontiac, MI (Pontiac Northern) |
| 34 | Keith Benson | C | 6'11" | 210 | Fr.-R | Farmington Hills, MI (Country Day) |
| 44 | Patrick McCloskey | F | 6'8" | 229 | Sr. | Marshall, MI (Marshall) |
| 45 | Dan Waterstradt | C | 6'10" | 240 | Jr. | Dearborn Heights, MI (Rutgers) |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| November 5, 2007* 7:30pm | Windsor Exhibition | W 115–94 | 0–0 | Athletics Center O'rena (N/A) Rochester, MI |
| November 9, 2007* 8:05pm | at Wisconsin–Green Bay | L 75-76 | 0–1 | Resch Center (3,117) Green Bay, WI |
| November 11, 2007* 1:00pm | Adrian | W 86–46 | 1–1 | Athletics Center O'rena (1,135) Rochester, MI |
| November 17, 2007* 6:00pm | Eastern Michigan | W 86–71 | 2–1 | Athletics Center O'rena (1,825) Rochester, MI |
| November 20, 2007* 7:00pm | Duquesne | L 77-92 | 2–2 | Athletics Center O'rena (1,545) Rochester, MI |
| November 24, 2007* 4:00pm, Big Ten Network | at No. 11 Michigan State | L 71-75 | 2–3 | Breslin Student Events Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| November 28, 2007* 7:00pm, FSN Ohio | at No. 25 Xavier | L 68-93 | 2–4 | Cintas Center (9,525) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 1, 2007* 4:00pm, FSN Detroit | Bowling Green | W 90–80 | 3–4 | Athletics Center O'rena (2,335) Rochester, MI |
| December 6, 2007 7:00pm | Missouri–Kansas City | W 114–105 $^{OT}$ | 4–4 (1–0) | Athletics Center O'rena (1,165) Rochester, MI |
| December 8, 2007 6:00pm | Southern Utah | L 73-82 | 4–5 (1–1) | Athletics Center O'rena (1,705) Rochester, MI |
| December 12, 2007* 7:00pm, Big Ten Network | at Michigan | L 87-103 | 4–6 | Crisler Arena (8,435) Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 19, 2007* 7:00pm | Rochester | W 67–53 | 5–6 | Athletics Center O'rena (1,195) Rochester, MI |
| December 22, 2007* 9:00pm, ESPNU | vs. No. 21 Oregon | W 68–62 | 6–6 | The Palace of Auburn Hills (22,076) Auburn Hills, MI |
| December 29, 2007* 7:00pm | at Toledo | L 69-71 | 6–7 | Savage Hall (3,491) Toledo, OH |
| January 3, 2008 8:00pm | at South Dakota State | W 73–72 | 7–7 (2–1) | Frost Arena (1,337) Brookings, SD |
| January 5, 2008 8:00pm | at North Dakota State | W 73–71 | 8–7 (3–1) | Bison Sports Arena (3,593) Fargo, ND |
| January 10, 2008 7:00pm | Centenary | W 74–61 | 9–7 (4–1) | Athletics Center O'rena (1,795) Rochester, MI |
| January 12, 2008 12:00pm, FSN Detroit | Oral Roberts | L 60-66 | 9–8 (4–2) | Athletics Center O'rena (2,505) Rochester, MI |
| January 19, 2008 4:00pm, WISE-TV | at Indiana–Purdue Fort Wayne | L 69-77 | 9–9 (4–3) | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (2,240) Fort Wayne, IN |
| January 24, 2008 7:00pm | at Indiana–Purdue Indianapolis | L 69-82 | 9–10 (4–4) | IUPUI Gymnasium (1,059) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 26, 2008 8:00pm, WWIR-TV | at Western Illinois | W 85–71 | 10–10 (5–4) | Western Hall (962) Macomb, IL |
| January 31, 2008 7:00pm, FSN Detroit | North Dakota State | W 77–74 | 11–10 (6–4) | Athletics Center O'rena (2,125) Rochester, MI |
| February 2, 2008 6:00pm | South Dakota State | W 78–68 | 12–10 (7–4) | Athletics Center O'rena (2,285) Rochester, MI |
| February 7, 2008 8:05pm | at Oral Roberts | L 53-60 | 12–11 (7–5) | Mabee Center (5,255) Tulsa, OK |
| February 9, 2008 6:30pm | at Centenary | W 97–61 | 13–11 (8–5) | Gold Dome (508) Shreveport, LA |
| February 16, 2008 6:00pm | Indiana–Purdue Fort Wayne | L 66-71 | 13–12 (8–6) | Athletics Center O'rena (3,125) Rochester, MI |
| February 21, 2008 7:30pm, FSN Detroit | Indiana–Purdue Indianapolis | W 84–69 | 14–12 (9–6) | Athletics Center O'rena (2,555) Rochester, MI |
| February 23, 2008 6:00pm | Western Illinois | W 91–82 | 15–12 (10–6) | Athletics Center O'rena (3,855) Rochester, MI |
| February 28, 2008 9:00pm | at Southern Utah | L 59-68 | 15–13 (10–7) | Centrum Arena (2,022) Cedar City, UT |
| March 1, 2008 8:05pm, Metro Sports | at Missouri–Kansas City | W 85–75 | 16–13 (11–7) | Municipal Auditorium (3,086) Kansas City, MO |
| March 9, 2008* 8:30pm | vs. Western Illinois The Summit League Tournament first round | W 80–66 | 17–13 | Union Multipurpose Activity Center (1,367) Tulsa, OK |
| March 10, 2008* 8:30pm, ESPN Full Court | vs. Indiana–Purdue Indianapolis The Summit League Tournament semi-finals | L 65-80 | 17–14 | Union Multipurpose Activity Center (3,307) Tulsa, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||