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Post by grizzland on Oct 30, 2009 16:08:02 GMT -5
I had some great laughs today listening to some of Kampe's answers not only for the Oakland media day but also for the Summit League media day. I recommend getting on the Summit League website and listening to Kampe and his response to many of the questions. It is about a 2 hour broadcast but I think that the interview with Coach Kampe and Becky is at approximately the 1 hour mark. I was curious to see what everyone thought about the media day and some of the remarks made by coach Kampe. I think I was most surprised by the high praise he gave Will Hudson with some great off-season work and also the fact that he brought Ilija into the conversation and mentioned he may be playing a decent amount of minutes. Good to hear that he really thinks he has made that many improvements.
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Post by Grizzfan1 on Oct 30, 2009 17:31:17 GMT -5
I had some great laughs today listening to some of Kampe's answers not only for the Oakland media day but also for the Summit League media day. I recommend getting on the Summit League website and listening to Kampe and his response to many of the questions. It is about a 2 hour broadcast but I think that the interview with Coach Kampe and Becky is at approximately the 1 hour mark. I was curious to see what everyone thought about the media day and some of the remarks made by coach Kampe. I think I was most surprised by the high praise he gave Will Hudson with some great off-season work and also the fact that he brought Ilija into the conversation and mentioned he may be playing a decent amount of minutes. Good to hear that he really thinks he has made that many improvements. Yeah, I caught the League presser courtesy of the link on the ORU forum. Good ol' Coach Kampe. Like him, Love him, or hate him the man is honest, wears his emotions on his sleeve, and knows the right time to make light hearted jokes (quite funny when Coach Francis made a remark concerning Kampe). While the results have not always been spectacular the man truly cares for his players and this program and is going to keep being a go getter and doing whatever he can to see this program continue to move higher and higher in the seasons to come.
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Post by Germane on Oct 31, 2009 12:28:20 GMT -5
Gotta love Kampe. I was also impressed with his praise for Will Hudson, and it was good to hear that Ilija has apparently made really good progress in the off-season. We're looking good in the middle. Not only do we have a front line with size and length (6-11 Benson, 6-9 Hudson, 7-ft Ilija), but it sounds like the strength and skill level is vastly improved. Our depth should help if Benson gets into foul trouble. And none of our bigs are seniors.
Thinking of the front line of the future, I also hope we see good progress from 6-9 Thames after redshirting last year. Sometimes we forget that he was rated by ESPN as the #38 power forward recruit in the country in 2008, with a grade of 87. He may have to fight for minutes this year (especially since Maynard will probably get some time at both the 3 and the 4), but let's hope Thames starts realizing his potential.
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Post by Germane on Oct 31, 2009 12:42:02 GMT -5
Another couple of thoughts about Kampe's comments:
It's pretty clear who the rotation guys will be. No surprises, but good to hear nonetheless. Likely starting five of Jones, Wright, Nelson, Hudson, and Benson, with Maynard and Cush (and probably Ilija) logging major minutes as well.
I loved hearing Kampe talk about defense. Music to my ears. Over the past few years, the players we had to have on the floor offensively were often defensive liabilities. This year, guys won't play if they don't defend. That may turn out to be the biggest difference this year.
It looks like Larry Wright is the real deal and then some. Kampe wasn't afraid to place high expectations on him - not only scoring ability, but the the ability to defend. And JJ is clearly comfortable with Wright.
In the Summit League teleconference, Kampe made it clear that Paul Kampe (replacing Dave Pemberton as OU beat writer) is no relation to him. They've never even met.
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Post by Grizzfan1 on Oct 31, 2009 15:27:16 GMT -5
Another couple of thoughts about Kampe's comments: It's pretty clear who the rotation guys will be. No surprises, but good to hear nonetheless. Likely starting five of Jones, Wright, Nelson, Hudson, and Benson, with Maynard and Cush (and probably Ilija) logging major minutes as well. I loved hearing Kampe talk about defense. Music to my ears. Over the past few years, the players we had to have on the floor offensively were often defensive liabilities. This year, guys won't play if they don't defend. That may turn out to be the biggest difference this year. It looks like Larry Wright is the real deal and then some. Kampe wasn't afraid to place high expectations on him - not only scoring ability, but the the ability to defend. And JJ is clearly comfortable with Wright. In the Summit League teleconference, Kampe made it clear that Paul Kampe (replacing Dave Pemberton as OU beat writer) is no relation to him. They've never even met. Music to my ears as well and it's about time. I have said for the past couple of seasons now this team and this program is not going to make significant leaps and bounds until they get to a point where they begin to pride themselves on defense. The ball is not always going to fall in the basket every night but you still have to play "D" and if you do that consistently you can make things "hellish" for the opposing team and can still win a game (or championship) even if you are struggling offensively. Interesting take on the Paul Kampe comment. I have wondered that for a while as well. Glad that got cleared up and out of the way.
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