Oakland men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe recalls exactly when he realized that mid-majors had become a farm system for power-conference programs.
It was when Kampe lost a standout player who grew up minutes from campus, who attended dozens of Oakland games as a kid and who always hoped to play for the Golden Grizzlies just like both his mom and dad once did.
Trey Towsend blossomed from unwanted recruit to Horizon League player of the year during his time at Oakland. The 6-foot-6 forward saved his best for the NCAA tournament stage, piling up 47 points and 25 rebounds in two games last March as the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies waylaid talent-laden Kentucky and took NC State to overtime.