Oakland opens exhibition slate vs Michigan

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Photo courtesy of Oakland Athletics

Usually, an exhibition game would not be receiving this much attention.

Billboards, ticket promos from players, charity events from participating teams, and a preview like this would be reserved for a high-stake regular season, or even postseason affair.

For a school like Oakland however, this is not your everyday exhibition game.

Michigan is a national brand. A program that plays in maybe the nation’s premier conference, has reached the sports pinnacle, and has made two national championship games in the last 11 years, plays in the same state as Oakland, and the Golden Grizzlies get the chance to face them on an NBA floor with sickos around the nation trying to find a fix of college basketball watching.

Oakland will take the floor for the first time since stealing America’s hearts during the NCAA Tournament last season, and it will be a great way for fans to get their first look at a new Golden Grizzly roster.

DQ Cole will be thrown into the fire early as the “go-to” guy, going up against a team of Michigan’s caliber. Maybe more important than the final score is how he looks getting the offense rolling with heavy attention.

Behind Cole, Oakland fans can look for who is getting the drawn up looks.

Last season in the opener, newbie Jack Gohlke shot 18 threes at Ohio State. While he had his fair share of early to mid-season struggles, if you are trying to be smart about who Kampe trusts, look for who is getting plays called for them early in the year. Jayson Woodrich and Malcolm Christie seem to be top candidates as three-point marksman.

Down low, Oakland is replacing a ton. Against a talented frontcourt in Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, who will Oakland be getting the ball too? Familiar face Buru Naivalurua is a good candidate, while Allen Mukeba and Deng Majak could also see some scoring chances.

One other key story to watch is the status of Isaiah Jones. He has been seen in a walking boot recently and has not been practicing. He is not expected to play Sunday and with Kampe available to speak with media all weekend, we could get some answers.

If Jones is forced to miss significant time, the big story to watch will be how that affects the Golden Grizzlies defensively. Jones is one of few returners that understand the zone and became quite good at the top of it. With so many new faces, there would seem to be some big learning experiences ahead, which could result in some breakdowns early on as players get familiar with it.

As big of a deal as it is for Oakland to get a program like Michigan on this kind of stage, this game would seem to be pretty important for the Wolverines program as well.

Michigan enters in a new era after a few years of struggles under former coach Juwan Howard. Former Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May will coach his team for the first time in the public’s eye on Sunday, meaning Michigan will come out looking to impress.

The aforementioned frontcourt would look to be a strength for the Wolverines, as Goldin and Wolf both come to Michigan as experienced mid-major transfers. Roddy Gayle, who comes over from Ohio State, and Tre Donaldson and Sam Walters from the SEC, give Michigan a completely new look. There will be a ton of fresh faces for both fanbases in this one.

Michigan received 19 votes in the preseason version of the AP Poll, good for a ranking of 34th. They are the first (albeit an exhibition) of six games Oakland will play against the top 39 in the poll.

As we enter exhibition play, while things like who is getting the ball and what roles players are playing are usually good indicators of what is to come, be weary of judging the final score too much.

Last season is a prime example. Oakland took the floor for the first time and lost to D2 Walsh University. That result combined with being picked sixth in the league in the preseason poll, caused a stir throughout the fanbase. As you may remember, Oakland went on to have the best season in program history.

One thing is true, whatever happens Sunday, it is great to have Oakland, and college basketball as a whole back. We missed you.

Sunday’s game will tipoff at 5pm at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, home of the Pistons and Red Wings. Proceeds from the game benefit Forgotten Harvest, and it will be broadcast on BTN+.

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