For Michigan basketball, matchup with Oakland at LCA ‘made sense on all the fronts’

Greg Kampe is entering his 41st year with Oakland basketball while Dusty May is beginning his first with Michigan basketball.

But despite the 40-year gap in experience at their respective programs, both jumped at the chance to bring a charity exhibition basketball game to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Sunday as the unofficial tipoff to the 2024-25 season for the Wolverines and Golden Grizzlies.

“Extremely excited to play in front of our fans in Detroit, at LCA and for a great cause as well,” May said Thursday. “It’s been a long offseason I think for everyone in college basketball, so now it’s an opportunity for us to turn our attention to the most important thing, which is the players playing games. And you know, we couldn’t be more excited.”

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“Yeah, I’m really pleased Dusty decided to play the game,” Kampe added. “We had a conversation when he got the job and you know, my thing was this will be the first time Michigan fans will get to see his team play, and why not do it in the Mecca of basketball in the Detroit area?

According to Kampe — currently the longest-tenured Division I coach at a single school, and coming off a second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament — he reached out to May almost immediately after Michigan hired him.

At the Final Four, the two discussed a meeting if the NCAA followed through on allowing D-I teams to play non-charity exhibitions, and they began connecting the appropriate parties to line it up.

But the NCAA hasn’t changed its rules on D-I exhibitions yet, so the programs will play for charity and raise funds for Forgotten Harvest, which works “with communities to end hunger and create individual, neighborhood, economic and environmental health” by “rescuing food surpluses from grocery stores, markets, restaurants, caterers, and more” and delivering it to metro Detroit emergency food providers.

May said the game’s location in Detroit prompted the choice of a Detroit charity over options in Ann Arbor or elsewhere.

And the two teams aren’t just playing for charity, they’re putting in the work. Earlier this month, members of both teams got together at Forgotten Harvest’s warehouse in Oak Park to tour the facility, pack apples and do their part to give back.

“I know my guys reflected afterwards and felt pretty good, that maybe they made a little small dent into everything we’re trying to do,” Kampe said.

As for on the court, May said he wanted to schedule the Grizzlies because of Kampe’s unique zone defense. Several Big Ten teams will play matchup zones, he said, so why not get a look at one of the most unique?

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“We don’t want to play ourselves, we can do that in practice, we want someone with a contrasting style,” May said. “For us, it comes down to, is it good for our guys, good for the program and good for the game of basketball? … So it made sense on all the fronts.”

That’s especially important since, from the way May made it sound, the Wolverines have had very few practices featuring their entire team.

“From our point of view, we’re simply excited to see our team play,” May said. “The more our guys can play together, the more beneficial it’s going to be. We’re a work in progress, we haven’t had our roster together for practice because of injuries and illnesses and whatnot, so just to see where we are for October.

“So there’s really no expectations other than go out and play as hard as we possibly can and develop the on-court chemistry that you need on game nights.”

Still, only one Wolverine is not expected to play Sunday: freshman Justin Pippen, the son of former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen.

He called the rest “knick-knack injuries … like most teams are having.” He added that with U-M’s goal being to play its most meaningful games in February, March and “hopefully April,” the team has no intention of playing players through even minor injuries early.

Even with the injuries, May said he likes what he has seen early.

“We share the ball, have a team that puts the time in the gym,” May said. “They put the elbow grease in. As far as (what’s) concerning, you never know how well you will rebound the ball and take care of it until you see someone else. … Until you’ve done it, you don’t know.

“But overall, pleased with how well our group has worked together.”