Perhaps the biggest upset in the first round of the men’s NCAA Tournament was No. 14 Oakland University taking down No. 3 Kentucky.
And while Jack Gohlke got all the love in that game with his insane 3-point shooting to score 32 points, forward Trey Townsend led the team with 12 rebounds while draining 17 points for a double-double in the victory.
Oakland head coach Greg Kampe says Townsend is called “Mr. Oakland,” as he was a main reason why they made the tournament in the first place. But with one more year of eligibility, Kampe doesn’t think he’ll be finishing his collegiate career with the Golden Grizzlies.
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Head coach Greg Kampe of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies during the North Carolina State Wolfpack game in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG Paints Arena on March 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
“I don’t think he will,” Kampe said on OutKick’s “Don’t @ ME” with Dan Dakich.” “They call him ‘Mr. Oakland’ here, but one side of it, the only reason he’s got another year is the COVID year. So, he gave us four years, he’s got his degree, and I had a big conversation with him yesterday.
“How can we beat [the tournament performance]? Well, we could if he’d come back. He’s going to get offered so much money. I can’t.”
NO. 14 OAKLAND STUNS NO. 3 KENTUCKY BEHIND STELLAR PERFORMANCE BY DIVISION II TRANSFER
Thanks to name, image, likeness (NIL) deals, Townsend can enter the transfer portal and head to another program, and they’ll pay to do so.
Kampe knows around how much teams could entice him with, too.
“He’s looking at $250,000-300,000 is what I’m being told. It’s going to be hard telling him to stay,” he said.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe celebrates with guard Blake Lampman and forward Trey Townsend after winning the men’s Horizon League Championship game against the Milwaukee Panthers on March 12, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Townsend had his best season in 2023-24 points-wise, as he averaged 17.3 per game with 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 36.4 minutes.
Kampe’s relationship with his star player over the years – he said he’s known him since he was 4 years old – will make the departure tough.
“He’s as close to having a son play for you as I could’ve had,” Kampe said. “I had a son play football at LSU, I had a son play baseball at the University of Cincinnati, and I got a son that’s a drummer in the music business out in L.A. So none of them were the basketball players that could’ve played for me.”
Head coach Greg Kampe of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies watches during the Kentucky Wildcats game in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 21, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Townsend hasn’t officially entered the transfer portal since Oakland’s tournament run ended in the second round against No. 11 NC State, 79-73.
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