Coach Greg Kampe Joins Us! Oakland University Men's Basketball Head Coach!

Added: 2026-05-21

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[00:00:34]What's up, guys? This is an awesome interview. Today, we are inside of Oakland University's film room and we are with the head coach of Oakland University men's basketball team. We got Coach Greg Campy with us here in person today. Coach, it is an honor for you to come on to our show and just thank you so much. Oh, >> it's an honor for me to be part of what you're doing.

[00:00:55]>> Yeah, man. It's awesome.

[00:00:57]>> Yeah. So, uh, well, first, uh, we we got a bunch of questions for you, bunch of topics, uh, but quick word from our sponsor at the Twooint Show. We love supporting local businesses, and we're proud to partner with the Aign Ignic Family Dairy Queen once again this summer. This year, they're celebrating their 50th year anniversary of their Dairy Queen, making five decades of serving the community with frozen treats, food, and the ice cream favorites families have enjoyed for years. To help celebrate, they're offering our audience a special deal.

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[00:01:41]Celebrate 50 years and treat yourself to some ice cream while you take advantage of the offer. Now, back to our show.

[00:01:47]>> So, we got our opening question first.

[00:01:49]you know, tell us, you just got a new gig with uh >> Tell them about who he is.

[00:01:54]>> Oh, yeah. This is This is Coach Campy.

[00:01:56]You know, he's 40 plus years. Um, obviously, you know, the the big win in the tournament uh over Kentucky uh two years ago. Um but opening question, what what are you doing this time of year?

[00:02:08]You you just picked up a gig with the U8 team or U19 team?

[00:02:11]>> Uh it's the U8. Normally, this time of year is supposed to be the easy time.

[00:02:16]Yeah. you're supposed to May is supposed to be the month that uh it leads into June, the players come back in June and you get going again, but uh because of the new rules with the portal and the transfers and and we're really roster building. So, I think we're done. Uh we've got some contracts get signed and once those contracts are signed, I think we have our roster.

[00:02:37]>> Gotcha.

[00:02:38]>> Um I leave uh Wednesday for our league meetings and from there I go to Colorado Springs.

[00:02:45]>> Wow. um for the training session for the USA basketball, the 18 and under team.

[00:02:51]I'm I've been designated as a court coach.

[00:02:55]I have no idea what that means.

[00:02:57]>> Yeah. Um I'm I'll get out there and they'll tell me what I'm doing and you know it's my first association with the national team and I've been I'm very yeah I'm very excited to to do that and you know you start at the lower level and hopefully you can work your way up that maybe in a couple years I'll be able to you know actually go on a trip with them and those types of things. So I'm I'm excited about going out there this week.

[00:03:19]>> So how did you get that gig? uh they just they called me and asked me if I'd be interested and um I said yeah I've been wanting to do this for a long time.

[00:03:29]So >> that's awesome. Very awesome. So opening life and story with basketball. We're going to start with that for you. So where did you where did your love for basketball first come from?

[00:03:40]>> Oh I was a football player that happened to be good at basketball and you know back in my day played every sport. you know, there weren't the there it was all seasonal. You know, basketball didn't go all year round. Football didn't go all there were no seven on seven camps or AEU basketball or anything like that.

[00:03:58]So, you just went from sport to sport.

[00:04:01]Um, football was really my dad was a high school football coach. He played football at Michigan and I was brought up in a football family. So, that was really the sport that I loved.

[00:04:12]Basketball just happened to be something I was pretty good at, you know, for for my era. And uh when I wanted to, you know, when I was time to pick a profession, I I got offered a coaching job in basketball. So >> yeah, >> that's that's how it started.

[00:04:30]>> Worked out well. So >> your let's talk about a little bit about your family. What did you learn from, you know, either your parents or your family that still sticks with you today like in your coaching profession and just everyday life as well?

[00:04:45]>> Well, I'm I'm like everybody. I I think not everybody, but the majority of people, you know, the the most influential people in your life are your parents and you know, how how they brought you up, what they exposed you to, what they taught you, you know, what kind of habits you have, all those types of things. and and then you know there's always those things your dad said to you when you were little that you know just sit in the back of your mind so that those things pop in there you know all the time and I even now I mean it's to the point where even if my dad didn't say it I said he does you know for sure it just it's they were very very influential they they gave me a great foundation for life um they were you know very supportive loving caring uh great family small town, you know. Uh, so I was lucky, very lucky.

[00:05:37]>> What city did you grow up in?

[00:05:38]>> I grew up I was born in Sageno.

[00:05:40]>> Oh.

[00:05:40]>> My parents are from Detroit.

[00:05:43]Uh, my father got out of coaching when I was like 7 years old and he took a job with General Motors and they moved him to a little town in Ohio, Defiance, Ohio.

[00:05:51]>> Mhm. And that's really I spent the rest of my child life there and graduated from high school there and uh went to Bowling Green, which is 45 minutes from Defiance, >> right?

[00:06:02]>> So, you know, I' I've lived my whole life in a 2 to three hour circular area.

[00:06:07]>> That's awesome. Yeah, my grandparents are from uh Sageno as well. They have a place there, so they love it, too.

[00:06:12]They've been there my whole life. And my my mom grew up there and everything. So, little circle moment there. I think that's pretty cool. So, next question for you. Just were you always sure you wanted to coach or did you have an idea of maybe going somewhere else when you were younger?

[00:06:25]>> No, I I can't even tell you I wanted to coach. People kept telling me I should, you know, uh >> uh coaches that I played for uh people that were in the profession, they all they all at that stage, they all just, you know, they thought that that would be, you know, something that I would be good at or that I would enjoy doing. I really never wanted to coach. I I wanted to be a sports uh caster. I um It's funny cuz when I graduated from college, I applied for the channel 11 in Toledo.

[00:06:59]Um the they had a job opening. I applied for that. I signed at the same time I signed with the Seattle Seahawks, a free agent contract.

[00:07:10]And uh and then the third thing was uh my uh the head coach at the University of Toledo, Bob Nichols, offered me the graduate assistant job. It's very hard to get into coaching, but like I said, people had kept suggesting to me that I do that. And uh I didn't get the gig with Channel 11. Uh I did get the GA job at Toledo and he coach Nicholls told me that uh if you go if I go to camp with the Seahawks then he was going to get someone else and he wasn't threatening to me or you know he was just telling me I you got to make a decision you know you and he was like you should probably go to Seattle but you know my contract I signed in 1978 was worth 29,500 or maybe it was 27,900 00 or something. It was in the high 20s.

[00:08:00]Um there weren't a lot of 5'9 white defensive backs in the NFL at the time.

[00:08:06]Uh there still aren't.

[00:08:07]>> Um but my and then the real what really what really screwed things up is my agent uh got in trouble with the law in that back in those days agents were financial advisors first and something happened and I really never got the full idea of what it was but I kind of lost him in the negotiations and that. So, I just decided I I would take the Toledo GA job. And and uh never did I think that that would lead to where I am today. You know, I like every other 22-year-old, I've just kind of >> seen what the next day would bring, you know.

[00:08:42]>> 100%.

[00:08:43]>> So, when you first got to Oakland, like when you first took the job, what was where was the university, the the program? Where was it? How did you find it and build it up? What was what was your plan? I guess saying >> it it I really didn't have a plan. I was sitting I was an assistant coach at the So I spent my first year at Toledo as a GA. Then they made me a full-time assistant. I was there six years and I'm sitting at my desk and uh the the Toledo baseball coach pops his head around the partition and he looks he goes, "Hey, I we played a school yesterday where they got a head coaching job opened and I think you should go look at it. I think they could be good." And I said, "Oh." I said, "Hey, Stan." "Okay, where's it at?" And he goes, "Oland." And I go, "Um, you guys were in California." You know, I I said, "I'm not I'm not I had no He goes, no, it's up in the Detroit area." He goes, "You should really go take a look at it." So that night I got in my car and I drove up there and I drove around it and I found out that um Kevin Nash who uh was a big- time wrestler back in the day he was called the big sexy but he's >> okay that sounds familiar.

[00:09:57]>> Yeah if you if you look it up he was big time >> but he's a friend of mine >> and I found out that his sister was going to school here playing women's basketball. So I called Kevin, I talked to him. He at that point he was not Mr. Sexy. He was he was just a guy trying to make it. He was a sevenfooter that played basketball at Tennessee. And >> wow.

[00:10:19]>> We couldn't make it in the NBA and he went into the you know the that business professional wrestling >> and so I met his sister and she took me around campus and everything. So I applied for the job and that's >> that's a cool story.

[00:10:33]>> Yeah. That's how I ended up getting a job.

[00:10:35]>> Yeah. Very cool. My turn. Okay. So, did you ever, now that you've been here for over 40 plus years, was there any time in there where you ever thought about leaving?

[00:10:46]>> Oh, I think about leaving every day. I mean, I um yeah, I I I've looked at I've looked at a lot of jobs. Um, early in the years, you know, when we were division two school, uh, the first 14 years we were division two and and early there I probably applied I actually applied for jobs.

[00:11:09]>> Uh, you know, I tried to get back and get the Toledo head coaching job and coach Nichols retired. Um, I tried to get the Bowling Green job. I I interviewed for the University of Detroit and I didn't get any of them.

[00:11:22]And then later on, most of those jobs uh came after me later, but by then Oakland had been, you know, I I consider them equivalent or if not better jobs, >> right?

[00:11:37]>> And so I wasn't going to leave. I mean, I got offered >> I've got offered three or four Mac jobs, you know, since then that I wow >> have no, you know, no interest in. And >> um the only job that I got offered that I turned down that I wonder about is um I was offered an assistant coaching job with the uh Minnesota Timberwolves.

[00:12:00]>> And Jack McCcluskey, who was a very close friend of mine, left here, went there. Um I was helping him with some stuff.

[00:12:10]Um, if he was probably earlier in life at that time, I probably would have taken it. But I knew he only had two or three years left and I wasn't going to give up what I had to, you know, maybe I'm in the NBA for two years, then he retires and boom, you know. Yeah. And that I mean that's a business where you're you're >> maybe I would have gotten an opportunity, maybe I wouldn't have. So I I I wonder about that one, but the rest of them I have no regrets or anything about.

[00:12:40]>> Yeah. Very cool.

[00:12:41]>> So kind of elaborate like you're so loyal to Oakland University obviously, but what does Oakland mean to you personally? I mean, you didn't even go here and it's, you know, you've been here more than half your life. So what does Oakland mean to you personally?

[00:12:57]>> Well, I think we're starting the 60th year of basketball and this is my 43rd year as a coach. So, uh, you know, most of our fans probably there isn't a fan out there.

[00:13:09]>> There might be one or two that knows a different basketball coach than me, right? The the whole generation of Oakland, you know, multi-generations of Oakland basketball fans only know Greg Camp as their coach.

[00:13:22]>> Um, and that's kind of a cool thing, you know, it really is. Uh, but I I've seen this campus go from about 8 or 9,000 students when I got here all the way up to 20 and then during the pandemic back down to 15 and now inching back up towards 20,000 again.

[00:13:40]>> Uh, I've seen all, you know, most of the buildings there were probably only seven or eight buildings on campus when I got here. May maybe a few more, but not many more.

[00:13:49]>> Um, so I've seen a most of the buildings built. Um, you know, so I I mean, I feel like it's been a way of life for me. I I feel like it's been a huge part of my life. My my boys love living here. Um, you know, they grew up in the area. They went to high school in the area. They one of them's still in the area. But, you know, it from the family standpoint, this this just been my life and been very fortunate that that I've been able to lead a life like that.

[00:14:20]>> That's awesome. So I want to talk to you about coaching for over 40 plus years and just players and coaching strategies and such. But my first question for you is how have players over 40 years changed? How have they just changed personality, talent? You tell us.

[00:14:35]>> Yeah, I I mean players changed with society, you know, the the societal changes are what changes the beliefs of the players. You know, how they were brought up. Like I was brought up a certain way. Uh, a lot of my players on my team now are brought up in no way were they brought up anywhere near the way I was brought up. It's just part of life. You know, the um I've always thought that everyone are they're you're products of your environment, right?

[00:15:02]That we're all So, I don't look at I never get mad at a player for being the way he is because I look at what was around him that that got him to be this way. Yeah, I try and have an impact on getting my beliefs in my way as a, you know, I don't I don't want to force those beliefs on him, but I want to show him, you know, that these these thoughts exist out there. And, you know, you've got to look at everything as you decide how to live your life and what you believe in and that.

[00:15:37]from a player standpoint, you know, the the entitlement of players has really changed because of how they've been brought up and how the system works.

[00:15:48]>> You know, I would have paid Bowling Green to let me play on their team and now I've got to pay players to play. Um, I I look at the idea of the coach or or authority when I grew up. Authority you stood in line and you yes sir and no sir and you did not question authority ever. Now I'm not a believer that it should be that way. I do think I think all authority should be questioned in the right way. But we do not respect authoritative figures. This generation does not. There's this entitlement that, you know, I've got to do what's best for me. And >> you know, if you look at, you know, and I don't want to get political here, but if you look at how we look at our police force, how we look at our politicians, how we look at the people that are in charge of life, our lives, it's changed so much from when I was your age to to what people think today. No one would have ever challenged a policeman. no one would have ever challenged, you know.

[00:16:54]So, I don't like that. Uh, but I understand it and I've got to help these young men their way through the the new beliefs and the new looks.

[00:17:04]>> Mhm. For sure. So, are you a overall like are you a fan of the changes or are you like of how time has evolved and such or do you wish you were maybe back in the 90s?

[00:17:15]>> Well, I can go way back to the 50s and 60s. Um, I think there's a lot of good change. I think there are I I always thought payers should players should be getting paid. I I I don't I mean it's ridiculous what they're being paid today. They should not that it it just shouldn't be that way, right?

[00:17:34]>> Um but I always like I I think the NCA's archaic rules caused a lot of this. Mhm.

[00:17:41]>> Um I've had some great point guards.

[00:17:43]Jaylen Moore, um Jonathan Jones, Kay Felder, all the way back to Brian Gregory. Those guys should have been able to run point guard camps in the summer and been able to monetize their stardom and they weren't ever allowed to do that. And that's what's caused now you've got you got guys that can't play that are expecting to get paid thousands of dollars, right?

[00:18:07]>> You know, and it shouldn't be that way.

[00:18:09]It should still be amateur athletics, but they should be able to monetize who they are. So, you know, Jack Golki should be able to run a shooting camp and and make 50, 70, $100,000 in a summer off it. Um, you know, those are the things I believe in. I don't I don't think kids should be being paid to play because it's still supposed to be amateur athletics. And then I'll argue with this with anybody and they're going to think they won the argument, but they didn't. Um I will argue that a hundred,000 $150,000 education um you know, a scholarship, a full scholarship and getting an education that save, you know, the people that are out there that have to pay for that themselves, that have to take student loans, that have to and student loans that follow them through life. um yeah, they have to work three jobs in order to take four classes.

[00:19:06]>> That that what we're giving this athlete >> is way more important that they don't have to go through life like that. They don't have student loans following them.

[00:19:16]They don't have >> and then you know the statistics are proven that people with degrees earn way more money in life than people that don't have college degrees. Now, are there people out there that don't have college degrees that have made millions?

[00:19:31]Sure, there are. But, you know, there's the oddball and everything, but statistically the mean shows, I think it's something like a $25,000 a year difference >> in what you make if you have a college degree, >> right?

[00:19:44]>> And so, we're as an amateur supposedly they're getting >> hundreds of thousands of dollars that way, right? And those are the what's important. Having a used Escalade five years from now is not that important, right? If I give a kid all this money to play and he spends it unwisely, >> you know, versus, you know, and there's a lot of people that argue that with me, but I I love that argument because I'm always going to win that argument.

[00:20:15]>> We had uh one of your guys that you just said, we had Kay Felder on last uh guest episode. Fun fact for you. So, if you want to go check that out, you can for sure.

[00:20:23]So, um you obviously you said what uh you know players change, coaching changed, but is there any old school coaching things that still work like nowadays?

[00:20:36]>> Oh, not really. You know, I not really the the only non-negotiable I have anymore is time. You know, I I I mean, in the old days, man, you had to wear everybody had to wear the same uniform, the same undershirt, the same shoes, the same so, you know, we were a team, >> right?

[00:20:54]>> So, we were supposed to all dress and look like a team. And it's hard to, you know, Steph Curry goes out and wins the NBA championships. He's the MVP of the series and he's wearing purple shoes.

[00:21:05]It's hard for me to tell a kid he can't wear purple shoes, you know. So, those I've changed with all that. The only non-negotiable I still have is time.

[00:21:14]You've got to be on time. If you're not on time, you're going to be punished very very strongly. Um and and that is something that you I have to teach my young men is the value of time. And and when you don't live on a if everybody's got to live at your timetable, you're telling everybody you're way more important than they are. You're more important than the team. You're more important than the coaching staff.

[00:21:36]You're more important than your, you know, your your roommate. And so we're not going to I I don't care that that's never going to change the rest of the rules, the rest of the old school stuff.

[00:21:46]You know, Sparky Anderson used to be it's my way or the highway guy and in this day and age, he'd be on the highway because he you would you just can't do that anymore because again, as we said earlier, they're products of their environment. They they'll look at you like you have three eyes if you tell them, you know, we all have to wear the same outfit, you know? I mean, it's it's it's it's just a sign of today. But yeah, I'm pretty strict on on time. You you must be on time.

[00:22:14]>> That's that's life. You got to be on time to everything. That's >> Well, that's what they're going to learn. Uh there's a lot of people that aren't. There's a lot of people that don't believe they have to be.

[00:22:23]>> It's crazy that people don't think that, isn't it? Like just in general in life, you know, just show up and you're going to do like showing up is probably the most important part and you're probably 50% of the way done.

[00:22:34]>> Yeah. But they do it and they get away with it.

[00:22:36]>> True. And if you can get away with something then you continue the pattern continues you know and and >> you also have this well we'll take care of it you know that that's >> got to hold them accountable.

[00:22:47]>> The big thing is the the world out there will take care of you you know this generation of parents is you know I don't want anything bad to happen to my child. I'm going to help them. I'm not going to teach them. I'm not going to let them pick themselves up. I'm going to help them.

[00:23:01]>> Mhm. For sure.

[00:23:02]>> And that's that's in my opinion that we're going down a really slippery path with that.

[00:23:07]>> Mhm. So, different subject here. We talked about NIL and roster building, but how has the transfer portal changed roster building for you and college basketball?

[00:23:16]>> Well, it's it's the most significant uh change in the history of amateur athletics, history of the NCAA. It's there's nothing that even comes close to comparing it. um the this idea of you know going and and it's gonna it's going to everybody says how are you going to change it and it's going to change because 5 years from now when all the data is coming in and no one's graduating that's when Congress and the movers and shakers of the sports world and of the life are going to step in and say Okay, enough's enough. You know, because there's no one that can transfer to four different universities in four years and graduate, >> right?

[00:24:05]>> New rule coming in that will be voted on May 22nd, and I'm sure it's going to pass is the five you get five seasons and you'll get to play five years and five, but you'll only have five seasons.

[00:24:17]It's age-based. From the time you're 19 years old until you're 24, you can play college sports. You can play all five seasons. um or from the time you graduate from high school, it's five years.

[00:24:29]>> And um so they're going to let you play five years that now if they continue to let you transfer everywhere, no one will graduate. No, >> not with a meaningful degree. I'm sure that athletic departments at the power fives where money is so important will come up withth mythological degrees of general studies, you know, but it won't be a meaningful degree. it won't be a degree that you'll be able to use uh go into a job interview and use. So, they're going to have to come back and put a limitation on transfers. I think the one-time transfer rule is fine.

[00:25:09]Everybody chooses the wrong school, a coach doesn't tell you the truth or you think you're better than you were or whatever. I think the one-time transfer thing is is a fine rule, but then they've got to put in, you know, the second time you transfer, you have to sit out a year, which means you'll because of the new five on five rule, you'll lose a year of eligibility. And so that'll deter the this everybody. I'm just going in the portal to see how much money I can make everywhere. For example, I get a freshman that's the freshman of the year in the league. So if we go to the five and five, we go back to recruiting high school kids probably, which is part of the reason they're doing it. So I recruit Joe Smith from Oxford High School, and Joe Smith's the freshman of the year in the Horizon League. Joe's got a really tough decision to make now because he can go get a lot more money in year two.

[00:26:05]But if he fails, which 95% of them fail, you know, now he's got three years of eligibility left and if he sits out a year by transferring back or he's going to, you know, lose a year playing, which means he nobody's going to pay him if you're not playing.

[00:26:24]So most likely what you'll see happen, you'll see a few idiots make that decision. Yeah. But what most likely will happen is the kid will stay with me for 3 4 years and then either in year five or year four, he'll make his transfer a year that year where he'll make some money for three years and then go get the big payday there. Because if you take a little money, take a big payday and then flame out, you're losing three years of that you could be making money.

[00:26:53]>> Makes sense. So, so the you know the logistics of it will probably limit. So I do think it should be that I do think if a coach is fired everybody there or coach leaves everybody there should be able to enter the transfer portal without >> even if it's a second time without limitation because >> the NCA doesn't want kids going to schools for coaches. They want them to go four schools but that's just not the way it is. The coaches recruit the kids.

[00:27:23]We have the relationship with the kids and the families and that. So, they really do come for the coaches.

[00:27:29]>> Yeah. So, yeah, you you touched on families. How important are like parents in in the recruiting aspect? When when you're recruiting a kid, do you talk to their parents about like, oh, how's this kid in in school or and and all that?

[00:27:43]>> Oh, you used to. You don't anymore. I mean, it's it's No, I mean, you talk to agents now. the whole the whole thing is is finan it's a financial trans transition now that's all it is um we brought five portal kids in this year we we signed five portal kids um we probably brought eight on campus to visits and of the eight only two that came in had both sets of parents and one other had a a one set one of the parents everybody else was just there by themselves or with their agent or or or that. And and my conversation with the parents uh like we had one young man that uh no two young men that we and we got both these two young men whose parents came were like the old days. I mean we we showed them all about the academics. We showed them about the safety of our campus. We showed them like campus life here and that >> but that's that's few and far between today.

[00:28:45]>> Wow.

[00:28:46]>> That the that's very very seldom. And even then, if somebody else would have offered them 75,000 more than we did, they wouldn't have come to Oakland. They would have gone there.

[00:28:55]>> Yeah.

[00:28:55]>> So, it's still it's all it's all financial driven.

[00:28:58]>> So, what do you want players to learn besides basketball being an Oakland new basketball player under you?

[00:29:06]>> Oh, I mean, I I I hope that we're teaching them life lessons. I hope that when they leave here, they go out into the real world and they understand that life's a team sport.

[00:29:18]and that they're they can be a great leader on the team of in their life, the their families, their team, their workplaces, their team, that they have all the skills to go out and be successful, not just as a follower, but as a leader, and uh you know, obviously we want them to have a great experience at Oakland. We want them to have a great athletic experience. Um we want to win, you know, all those types of things. But what we want to do is release them into the world as as solid people, solid citizens that can have success so that when they're 37 years old, they look back and say, "Wow, you know, I'm having a great life. I have a great family and and I look back at Oakland." And Oakland had a lot to do with that, >> right?

[00:30:00]>> What do you think the hardest conversation is to to have with a player like any any time of the year?

[00:30:08]>> Oh, the that's an easy one. I mean, why they're not playing, >> right? you know, why why why are they not, you know, every player has dreams and just like every person has dreams and you know, my whole recruiting pitch to them when we bring them here is that we want we want to be the catalyst that helps you achieve every dream that you have. Um, and obviously when you're bringing in 15 guys on a team and only five play, you know, eight play, nine play, but three to four play a lot of minutes. Um, there's five or six guys that in their mind aren't reaching their dreams. And and having those conversations, especially when they're older, um, maybe not even anymore because now everybody expects they should be playing immediately. Um, but having those conversations are the hardest ones and trying to navigate through that and what you have to do to get more minutes, what you have to do, you know, those those conversations are are the hardest to have with players.

[00:31:13]>> So, a little we're going to jump around here just bunch of miscellaneous questions for So, I want to talk about the 2024 season and that Kentucky game.

[00:31:22]I see that smile on your face now. just what did the Kentucky March Madness win in 2024 mean to you personally and then what did it mean to Oakland team and Oakland University?

[00:31:35]>> Well, for me personally, obviously experiencing it was uh very cool. Um, it it's more of a pain in the butt than it is, you know, the other way around because, you know, I mean, it's it's I'm to the point now that I, you know, the recognition of it is just too much, you know. I mean, I I I really like to go sit down and have dinner somewhere and not get bothered, you know. Um, but um it it comes with it, so I understand it. But, uh, what it did for the university, what it did for our players. You know, Jack Golki went from 5,000 followers on in or 500 followers on Instagram to 11:00 that night, he had 45,000 or 65,000 or so. It was an unbelievable number. what it did for Trey, what it did for every member of that team, um, and what it did for Oakland University, the the publicity, the monetary side of it, the, you know, the what I liked the most was the people that were in Pittsburgh to to a man or to a woman, every time I see somebody that was there, they talk it was the best weekend of their lives. It was the most exciting. It was Oh, yeah. you know, it would my my kids, my own sons would, you know, they still talk about how much fun that was for those four days that we were in Pittsburgh. And, you know, the the experience was just unbelievable for our fans, for our the people that work here, for everybody. It was just an uplifting weekend. Um, and and it, you know, it's it's the little train that can or whatever that thing was. you know, you you have the special time and there's a lot of work put in and a lot of people re were rewarded the work. You know, I made I said at the beginning of this, it's a pain in the butt for me sometimes and it is. But, you know, because of that, it really keeps Oakland in the, you know, in the spotlight. And it it's it's something that you can never replace. There's no way you can ever replace what that weekend did for this university and for our fan base and for all our students who, you know, they got to listen to Michigan and Michigan State all the time and they got, you know, but for that one shining moment, you know, we were right there with everybody and and in the national spotlight and it's a lot of fun.

[00:34:02]>> So, what's your thoughts now on March Madness expanding to 76 teams?

[00:34:07]>> Oh, I'm against it, but they didn't ask me.

[00:34:09]>> Everyone's against it. Yeah, I I I don't think very often people make decisions when 87 or 84% of the people that were asked about it were against it and they still went went ahead and did it. I I that's an unusual strategy. So, we'll see how it goes.

[00:34:28]>> So, you play Michigan State every single year and you know we see stuff in pressers and you guys are look like your best buddies. Tell us about your relationship with coach Tomo.

[00:34:38]Well, he and I, you know, were from the same piece of cloth like uh 43 years ago when I got this job, he was, you know, a GA, I think, at uh or not a GA, he was probably the film guy or something at Michigan State. He was the low man on the totem pole there. And we would run into each other on the road and we would, you know, and and as the years go by, we would, you know, we just it's it it not a relationship like you would say, oh, they were roommates somewhere and they've kept in touch and that it's really more of a necessity thing in that, you know, going to that gym. Oh, there's that guy is.

[00:35:23]Oh, yeah. Come on, let's go have lunch.

[00:35:25]You know, somebody to hang with that you knew. Um, and he was in the same, you know, a Michigan State guy that's down at the bottom.

[00:35:35]Oakland's were division two where, you know, nobody's paying attention to us, right? And we just became friends. And then obviously he got Oakland went division one, he got the head coaching job, and we'd go we'd be out in the middle of nowhere, Michigan, recruiting, and we'd go eat lunch here. And it it just, you know, it was it's just a real situation. You know what I mean? It's not It's just >> just a guy. Yeah. Just a guy that you know, you like each other because you fought the same battles. You have the same beliefs. You know, and all those lunches and all those sitting in bleachers and all the conversations, you know, it's gez, can you believe this crap? And can you you know, and you just you carry the same thoughts, you carry the same beliefs, and you become friends. And then, you know, you cheer like hell for him. I want him to win everything he does. I I want him to I want that just because of that, you know, and um and it's been unique. I mean, the two longest tenur coaches in the country are him and I and we came up together in the same state, you know, >> right?

[00:36:41]>> An hour apart. Um so it's Yeah, it's it's I think the word you used was genuine and that's exactly what it is just it's all genu it's not made up, you know. It's a >> you couldn't make this up, right? it just and uh he's been loyal to me. He's really helped Oakland. He's helped me raise a lot of money for cancer. He's helped me raise a lot of money for my program. Um you know, I don't think Oakland would be where it is without him. And I don't I don't think you can reverse that. I I think Michigan State would still be where they are without me. So, um you know, I'm the guy that's gotten the biggest advantage out of this probably.

[00:37:23]>> Yeah. So tell us about the game. I think it was like 2014 or 2015 against ISO and you were in the palace and you guys lost in overtime.

[00:37:32]>> Do you remember that one? I was I'm assuming so. That was probably a tough one to swallow. I'm I'm a Michigan State student so I apologize. But just tell us about that game. I mean at the Palace that probably must have been awesome.

[00:37:43]>> Yeah, it was uh it was Michigan State's ranked number one in the country. Denzel didn't play in our game.

[00:37:51]>> So >> Oh, that's right.

[00:37:52]>> He didn't play. He was injured.

[00:37:54]>> Uh Kay Felder went off in the first half. We had a We had just beaten Washington at Washington >> by 25. We thrashed Washington and they had two lottery picks on their team >> and we came in here. Um the Palace, the largest crowd in the history of the Palace that night.

[00:38:13]>> Wow.

[00:38:14]>> The game was on ESPNU and it ended up being the largest um the most watched game of the year on ESPN. Oh my goodness.

[00:38:24]>> And basically what they did is when it looked like Michigan State was going to lose, they switched all the games to watch the last couple minutes.

[00:38:30]>> Oh.

[00:38:30]>> Um so that's why they had so many viewers.

[00:38:34]>> That's funny.

[00:38:34]>> Um we had a 13-point lead at halftime.

[00:38:37]Um came back uh Felder shoots a shot with 4 seconds to go. Ball rolls around the rim, hangs on the rim, and it doesn't go in.

[00:38:49]>> If it goes in, he he got fouled. So he'd have a free throw. We were down two. It would have tied it. He makes the free throw. You know, we win the game. Um instead it goes to overtime and we're down two with 25 30 seconds to go and Kay goes in, makes a spin move, makes a shot to tie it and they call him for a charge and take the basket away and it was his fifth foul.

[00:39:14]>> So he's out of the game. I think we lose by four or six then in overtime. Um, yeah, I think it it was it was a game that would have changed the course of Oakland basketball. I think we would had, you know, no, we beat Kentucky and now we've got a practice facility. I think if we win that game that night, we'd have had the practice facility in 2016 instead of waiting to 26. Um, you know, it it it it really it hurt us more than it helped them, you know. It really hurt us cuz I mean 22,000 people at the game, another what 8 million watching on TV and there we were our our moment. We got that Kentucky moment 10 years later but we would have had the moment 10 years earlier and that would have meant the world obviously to our fan base to everybody. Um and the guy that called made the call was my favorite official of all time to very close friend of mine. So, uh, I can't, as mad as I was, I couldn't be too mad.

[00:40:15]>> What did Tom say after that game?

[00:40:18]>> He said, "You should have won."

[00:40:20]>> You know, he said or maybe you I I mean, it's been 10 years, so but you know, I know it was you had us or, you know, something and >> um but uh you know, I that was that's a tough moment. you know that that shot for Oakland that was a tough moment because we we acquitted ourselves but I was we don't want to be the nice little story you know we we've always been a nice little story and when we beat Kentucky it wasn't a nice little story now it's you're here right >> that would have got us there 10 years earlier >> yeah for sure >> yeah when we interviewed Kay like a week or two ago you said that game still haunts me yeah >> I think that's that's a perfect way to uh to say that do you have a favorite restaurant near Oakland at all in near Oakland.

[00:41:09]>> Yeah.

[00:41:09]>> Yeah. Around this area.

[00:41:11]>> Oh, I I go to a lot of restaurants. So, you know, I mean, my favorite just mom and pop place probably is RJ's.

[00:41:20]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:41:21]>> So, go go see >> go see Russ Luxton all the time. But, you know, I I I my favorite restaurant in the Detroit area is Joe Mirrors down in the Renins building. I >> that's where I that's my go-to place. I like that. And they're actually moving January 1st. They're going to move into the new uh JW Marriott that's being built downtown. But I I'm a big restaurant, big food guy, so I go to a lot of places.

[00:41:46]>> Yeah. Do you have a favorite fast food at all or >> Well, try to stay try to stay away from it or >> No, I I I need to try and stay away from it.

[00:41:58]>> Everyone does.

[00:41:59]>> Yeah. But, you know, I like I like any type of fried chicken, any type of chicken tenders, things like that. Like that. You got to find Yeah.

[00:42:08]>> Got to have that.

[00:42:09]>> Like a Raisin Canes, Chick-fil-A.

[00:42:11]>> Yeah. Well, there's a place um I can't I'm trying to It's a tea place. Uh >> Kung Fu Tea.

[00:42:20]>> Kung Fu Tea.

[00:42:21]>> Kung Fu Tea. They have the best chicken strips.

[00:42:25]>> Really?

[00:42:26]>> Like right over by Buffalo Wild Wings?

[00:42:28]>> Yeah. Right by Buffalo. But they're they're all over. What's it called again?

[00:42:31]>> Kung Fu Tea.

[00:42:32]>> Kung Fu Tea. I w my my the lady that cuts my hair. I was waiting for her. Uh and I want I was I wanted to get something and so I had about a 15-minute rate wait. And it was right by the place. And she said, "Yeah." I asked her if she wanted something. She told me what she wanted in there. I went in and and they had fried chicken. I go, "You got chicken in here?" They go, "Yeah."

[00:42:58]and and they go, "It's really good." I go, "Okay, give me, you know, three chicken strips or whatever."

[00:43:04]>> And it was it's the best. It's better than Raising Canes. It's better. And I'm a big Raising Canes guy, but it's it's better than any of us.

[00:43:12]>> It's just so crispy.

[00:43:13]>> And yeah, >> good.

[00:43:14]>> Well, you hear it here first. On Liveroy and Walton Boulevard, go to Kung Fu Tea and get their chicken strips. I'm going to have to try that out. I've never heard that in my life, but that's insane. So, >> I don't think they want you to hear about it cuz it's you. How do you don't even know they serve food like that?

[00:43:29]>> That's crazy.

[00:43:30]>> Probably have like five pounds of it.

[00:43:32]>> Yeah.

[00:43:34]>> So, >> besides Kentucky, cuz we know that's your favorite one, probably. Give us another favorite campy win.

[00:43:42]>> Oh, I I think my all-time favorite win is when we beat Michigan here.

[00:43:48]>> Yeah.

[00:43:48]>> Nobody's going to remember that. It was a way time ago. But for me, when your father played football Michigan, your brother played football in Michigan, you grew up. I grew up every Saturday from 5 years old until I couldn't go to anymore at, you know, at Michigan football games. Every every week I was there. I was in that stadium, you know, before you could sit in the end zone in the first half. second half you go sit over by 50 yardd line, you know, there'd only be 40 50,000 people at the games and when I was growing up and uh so to beat Michigan uh here at Oakland, you know, in the arena >> in the arena.

[00:44:29]>> Yeah. That was of of everything that'll always be my favorite.

[00:44:33]>> Yeah.

[00:44:33]>> You know, now it didn't do what beating Kentucky did for us. It wasn't the national splash like that, but for me personally, that was that was the biggest win >> for sure.

[00:44:44]>> Do you have a favorite like ingame moment? Do you have a funny in-game moment at all or any any any crazy campy shenanigans happen or >> I I'll tell you one. I'm saving I was going to save but I'll tell you guys it.

[00:44:59]Um >> I guess we're lucky. So in 2005 maybe uh and we ended up going to the NCA tournament that year.

[00:45:10]>> It's a good year. Yeah.

[00:45:10]>> Yep. But we had a really stressful season and we had a player that was a great player and I called a timeout with 30 seconds to go in the half and I drew up what I wanted to run. You know, the shot clock was off, right? The shot clock was off.

[00:45:26]>> 30 seconds to go in the first half.

[00:45:28]We're going to hold the ball and run this play.

[00:45:31]And so we go out and I was angry at my team. Really angry. Things weren't going well. And the guy, I'm not going to name names, but the guy who was a great player just held the ball. Shot clock went down. He just dribbled three or four times and shot it. Didn't even try to run the play.

[00:45:50]And you know where we are, our bench is.

[00:45:53]I went down, walked past the scores table, walked past the uh their bench, out the arena door, and out the outside doors, the VIP entrance, and went to my car.

[00:46:07]>> Oh my god.

[00:46:09]>> And I got to my car, and I didn't have my keys.

[00:46:13]>> Oh, >> if I had my keys, I would not be sitting here today.

[00:46:18]>> Oh my gosh.

[00:46:19]>> That's how upset I was. And I was done.

[00:46:22]And I came back. I didn't the the VIP door was locked. I couldn't get in. I had to walk all the way around the to the front of the arena. And there are people out there. Back in that day, people would go outside to smoke at halftime. People out there smoking.

[00:46:35]Somebody looks at me and goes, "What are you doing out here?" I go, "I need a smoke."

[00:46:39]And uh >> Oh, that's >> I went in, went in through the front doors, went back down. By the time I got to the locker room, it was time, you know, it was time to go out. My staff's just looking at me like, "Where the you know, >> and I just went in and opened the door."

[00:46:51]That's awesome.

[00:46:52]>> Open the door, locker room. I go, "Okay, let's go." We went out. I don't remember if we won or lost the game.

[00:46:56]>> I was going to ask that, >> but uh I ended up going back to the bench, coaching the second half. If I had my keys, >> you wouldn't be here.

[00:47:04]>> Nope.

[00:47:05]>> Did you play Did he play a good second half?

[00:47:06]>> You would have never coached in the in the division 1 NC State tournament because that was the year we went for the first time.

[00:47:11]>> Oh my goodness. Did he play a good second half that player or do you remember?

[00:47:14]>> Remember?

[00:47:14]>> Don't remember.

[00:47:15]>> Do not remember.

[00:47:16]>> So, we hear you're a big golfer. I do play a lot of golf.

[00:47:20]>> You you you do play a lot of golf. I've heard you played at Oakland Hills. Just tell us tell us about your game a little bit.

[00:47:25]>> It's not that good. It used to be pretty good, but it's not that good. I got two fake knees and two fake hips, and I can't hit it. You know, if I hit it 225, that's a good shot now. So, it's hard to It's hard to play as you get older. And my ego is too big to go up and move up to the old.

[00:47:42]So, it's a My handicap has gone way up.

[00:47:45]>> What is your handicap? Uh I think I think I'm at like a 12 now.

[00:47:49]>> Oh, see you still beat us. I'm like a 16.

[00:47:52]>> So one more question for you uh before we close it up here. He's got one more after that. Just what's the Christmas sweater idea with you and coach Iso?

[00:48:02]>> Uh there's a long story behind that, but I just one year I called him on the phone said, "Hey, I want to change your image." Because I had worn I had worn some crazy sweaters and uh you know I I remember >> Yeah. Look behind you.

[00:48:16]Yeah. No, I wore one the first year I ever did it. It had a moose head coming out of the front and a the tail coming out of the back. I mean, it was a 3D sweater.

[00:48:27]>> Oh my.

[00:48:27]>> And uh they put it on that TV show around the horn.

[00:48:32]>> Yeah.

[00:48:32]>> On ESPN. Yeah.

[00:48:34]>> And they they were discussing, >> you know, did I go too far wearing a sweater at the game? I think it was the final question, you know, they have where one guy talks for two minutes and um so it had gotten a lot of publicity and I so I called his and I said, "Look, I'm going to change your image." And he goes, "What do you mean?" He go I go, "We're going to wear Christmas sweaters.

[00:48:58]We're going to wear ugly Christmas sweaters. We're going to be the first coaches to ever do that. We're going to bring attention to that. We're good guys." Okay.

[00:49:05]And so he I he agrees to it, but I never thought he was going to do it. So like I I went out before the game and I didn't have mine on because I figured I didn't want to be the an idiot out cuz the first time we did it was at the Breland Center. If we were at Oakland, I would be different. But we >> were those big green Grinch ones, right?

[00:49:23]>> Yeah. And uh so he wasn't out. So So I had to make a decision. He said he's going to do it, but if So I put mine on, I go out and he comes out and he's got this elf sweater on.

[00:49:36]>> Oh man.

[00:49:37]>> And about eight minutes into the game, he gets a technical.

[00:49:41]>> Yes.

[00:49:41]>> And the fans iconic.

[00:49:43]>> Yeah. The fans start calling him, you know, the media now started calling him the angry elf.

[00:49:48]>> So now he's really angry with me because I was supposed to be changing his image and it made his image worse. Right.

[00:49:55]So I let a year go by and then I and then I called and said, "Now this time we're going to wear the exact same thing, so we can't, you know, and that's when we wore the two Grinches at the uh at Little Caesar's Arena."

[00:50:09]>> Uhhuh.

[00:50:09]>> And then last year, I get a text from him in August. I'm in Cabo in Mexico, and I get a text from saying, "My wife's going to call you about the Christmas sweaters." And I'm like, it's August and we're thinking of Christmas sweaters.

[00:50:26]>> So, a few minutes later, she calls and she's doing the Christmas sweaters this year. She took the whole thing over and that's how we ended up with the one that's up there.

[00:50:35]>> Um, so this year it's my turn again. So, I'm trying to figure out what the hell we're going to do.

[00:50:40]>> You were the nice guy this year, though.

[00:50:41]>> Yeah. Well, that like I said, that was her. That was I told her when it was over, I should have worn the one with him on it, and he should have worn the one with me on it. But, we're learning.

[00:50:51]That's funny, dude.

[00:50:52]>> So, last question here. After more than four decades at Oak, what do what do you want fans to know about you, your players, and just your program in general?

[00:51:04]>> Well, I think after 43 years, you can't fool them, right? And what I want them to think and what they think probably aren't the same thing because they're after 40 years, they've made up their minds, right? But I'm hoping that they think, you know, that we put out really good young men that play their ass off that that uh represent the university that, you know, the kids that they'd want to bring home and have dinner with that, you know, that that the young men that they would be happy if their daughter dated or something like that.

[00:51:36]Good people, play hard, uh represent the university well, get a good education, you know, go to school, do the things you're supposed to do. some of that old school stuff we talked about earlier.

[00:51:48]That would be what I would want. And yeah, and we win some games.

[00:51:52]>> So, how many years do you have left?

[00:51:56]>> That's a really good question. I have been getting asked that a lot now. Um, I have three years left on my contract. I would suspect that I will, you know, I I'm not guaranteeing I will finish those three years. I suspect I will, but I don't know. Mhm.

[00:52:14]>> Um, I did find out that if I coach eight more years, I'll set the all-time record for the most games coached in the history of college basketball at any level.

[00:52:24]>> That's tempting, isn't it?

[00:52:25]>> Well, 8 years is a long time.

[00:52:28]>> Yes, it is.

[00:52:29]>> So, and then I, you know, when I first heard that, I was like, yeah, I could do that. And then I started thinking, so what if I do?

[00:52:37]>> Are they going to put that on my tombstone or, you know, what does it really mean? you know, so that I got to I got to come to grips with all that.

[00:52:47]But >> for sure, >> I know I'm going to coach next year and that's that's all I'll talk about now.

[00:52:52]>> For sure. Well, hey everyone, this is going to wrap up the episode with Coach Greg Campy. It was an honor to have you on to the Twooint Show, our show, and just thank you so much for giving your time and opportunity for us.

[00:53:03]>> It's my pleasure. I think you need more advertisers, though. So people that are out there, you you need to this is going to be a big time show someday. So get in early with them.

[00:53:13]>> We're working on it. Yes, sir. Reach out if you guys have anything. So again, thank you so much. We're going to see you guys next time. Peace.