Oakland basketball, one day, will bask in greatest moment in NCAA tournament spotlight

PITTSBURGH — Someday, Oakland basketball will look back on its stunning March Madness run with joy.

That will come once the Golden Grizzlies reflect on the potentially program-changing weekend, when the Horizon League champs jumped onto the NCAA tournament stage as a 14-seed, beating 3-seed Kentucky in the first round, then taking N.C. State into overtime for a shot at the Sweet 16 two nights later.

Ultimately, OU fell short, 79-73, against the Wolfpack at PPG Paints Arena, bringing a sudden end to their historic season.

Down for the opening 37 minutes Saturday night, Oakland took its first lead with 2:49 left in regulation. After a back-and-forth few minutes, OU had the ball with the game tied in the final seconds.

But it didn't get a shot off.

Instead, Oakland turned the ball over.

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"We got the ball with 17 seconds to go and we didn't get a shot," coach Greg Kampe said. "There's only one person to blame for that. ... To have it happen in the most important game that Oakland has ever played, that's — yeah. I'll carry this with me the rest of my life. It's just terrible that we didn't get a shot. So that's on me."

The overtime wasn't much better: Oakland went 1-for-9 from the floor.

Because of that harsh finish, that joy might be a while in arriving.

It still stings too much for Trey Townsend, the Horizon League Player of the Year (and a legacy Golden Grizzly) who had 30 points and 13 rebounds against N.C. State's 6-foot-10, 275-pound center, DJ Burns Jr.

Townsend appeared stoic as he walked out of the locker room following the loss.

"Everyone is getting their hugs, whether they like it or not," Townsend repeated as he made his way down the awaiting line of parents, coaches, administration and support staff.

"So close. Damn."

'Still doesn't feel real'

And then there's Jack Gohlke, who had perhaps the most life-changing 72 hours of anyone in the sport.

The transfer from Hillsdale College went from a five-season Division II wing and semi-unknown reserve — he was the Horizon League's Sixth Man of the Year, after all — to the face of college basketball for the weekend. He scored a career-high 32 points against Kentucky, then made the rounds on ESPN and CBS, saw sweatshirts featuring his face pop up everywhere and got NIL deals ranging from footwear to TurboTax.

On the court, meanwhile, Gohlke made 16 3-pointers across the two games and then became the first player, more than likely, in Kampe's 40-year career to earn a standing ovation at a neutral site just for checking into the game, three minutes in. In front of 18,000 people and a national television audience, no less.

"It still doesn't even feel real to be honest," Gohlke, 24, told the Free Press. "I've never could have imagined it; I've never experienced anything like this before."

For the 68-year-old Kampe, it's not just about how difficult reaching the NCAA tourney is, though he left Saturday's postgame dais reminding everyone of the realities of mid-major life. It's about who it happened with.

"I've done this a long time, and I'm going to tell you, in this day and age of kids leaving and the lack of respect for authority and what about me, what can I make? and all the people telling everybody that's how you should be," Kampe began before moving on. "I had 15 guys that just cared about each other, 15 guys that just cared about the outcome of the team and the pride they had to be part of a team, and the way they joked and hung around.

"It was just a joy in this day and age to walk into the office every day and know I'm lucky to get to go in that gym and be with this group of kids, and that's probably what hurts the most right now, and I know that that's over. And, man, I'm going to miss that."

'Put Oakland on the map'

The Golden Grizzlies' camaraderie was a common theme Saturday.

Perhaps no one was more central to that than Townsend.

"You can't tell the history of Oakland basketball without Trey Townsend," Gohlke said. "And as much as he's a great basketball player, he's an even better friend and man."

The trio — Kampe, the pioneer of OU (even as they went from Pioneers to Golden Grizzlies); Townsend, the legacy; and Gohlke, the sudden folk hero — didn't fall back on their plaudits. They also remind anyone who would listen of Chris Conway and Blake Lampman, a pair of seniors — who averaged 10 and 12.8 points a game respectively this season — with nine combined years of experience in the program.

"For me, I always wanted to come here and hang banners and make these memories and put Oakland on the map," Townsend said. "And to say that we did that, it's such a special thing. ... To do it with this group of guys, it was that much more special. Like, with Blake and Chris, who have been here since my freshman year over this whole time, it means that much more.

"I'm proud of what we've done for this university and put it on the map, essentially."

Though the pain is present, what already happened can't be undone. Like how OU's website crashed soon after the upset of Kentucky. Or how the Louisville fans, spiting Kentucky, bought approximately $8,000 worth of Golden Grizzlies merchandise in 24 hours. Or, as Kampe called it, "the legend of Jack Gohlke."

The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder left Michigan with 1,300 followers on Instagram. Just as his 3-pointers arced under the PPG Paints Arena roof, that count soared to more than 51,000.

For the past few days, he has done his best to focus on the present, but he knows about the action off the court, too.

"My coaches and my teammates were just telling me like, 'Dude, you're literally like the face of college basketball,' " he said Saturday with a laugh. "And, just, I didn't process in my brain and it hasn't yet. I can't fathom that. Like, I've tried to just be in a bubble since we got here and try and focus to help us win these games.

"Maybe once I get home and decompress a little, it'll really set in, but yeah, I just feel like a Division II basketball player from Hillsdale College still, to be honest."

Oakland's roster is sure to look quite different next season. There will be no Gohlke or Townsend, no Conway or Lampman, no DQ Cole or Rocket Watts. But Kampe has more positive momentum in his program than ever before.

He has built before, over his 40 seasons in Oakland County, and he plans to build again.

If nothing else, there is at least this after Oakland's golden weekend:

"People now hopefully will know that we're not in California," Townsend said. "We're from Michigan."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oakland basketball reflects on NCAA tournament run to remember