While many college kids are headed out for one of the biggest nights of the year at nightclubs and bars, Oakland’s men will be facing the top team in all the land.

Kansas is still the No. 1 team in the nation and only allowing 54 points per game at Allen Fieldhouse, the site of Wednesday night’s game. They also have a 43-game winning streak on their home court.

Oakland was heading out to Kansas this afternoon from Tennessee, where they defeated Tennessee Tech Monday night, when I got hold of coach Greg Kampe and point guard Johnathon Jones.

The Jayhawks may have inadvertently done a favor on the Grizzlies’ behalf last season. In the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Kansas beat North Dakota State, the Summit League’s entry by virtue of a Summit League Tournament championship won against the Grizzlies on a last-second shot. But did it really help?

“I saw that,” Jones said. “When one of our teams goes to the tournament, you want to see them do well – even though they beat you. I was kind of secretly rooting for North Dakota State because they were in our conference, but it’s not really revenge.”

The Jayhawks advanced to the round of 16, before falling to Michigan State.

Jones was unaware of the fact he was about to break the mark for assists in the Summit League (626), held by Valparaiso guard Bryce Drew, who hit a memorable buzzer-beater in the 1998 NCAA tournament to beat Ole Miss.

“I didn’t even know that. That’s a good honor. My teammates knock down a lot of shots, so I have to give credit to them,” Jones said.

Jones needs only eight more assists to reset the mark.

Oakland last beat a top 25 team, No. 23 Oregon, in Dec. 2007 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Grizzlies are currently 5-43 against teams from BCS conferences, having last beaten Oregon in overtime last season.

I wish, and many others I’m sure, that this game was on TV, but alas it’s not. Never fear, your radio isn’t just for sports talk and blacked-out Lions games, you can follow the game on WDFN-AM (1130).

Here's another episode of "Grizz Talk" for you. Enjoy watching me get spanked at Around the World by Oakland sophomore Blake Cushingberry and sit down with Cush, Drew Maynard and assistant coach Darren Sorenson as we talk about the young season, traveling to Kansas and what they like to eat for Thanksgiving. I still have to figure out how to embed videos like Pemberton does, but for now, just click the link. Also, if you want more of OP sports writers playing basketball, revisit "Play Like a Spartan," in which former MSU writer David Birkett went through the wringer at Tom Izzo's media day in 2007.

- The Oakland Press Video > Video-sportstalk: The best place for news in and around Oakland County

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I am staring up a weekly Pistons' video podcast on the blog and am looking for any Pistons bloggers or NBA bloggers period to join me on the show. We will shoot at the OP office in Pontiac each week. Times and days will vary depending on my schedule and whoever joins me that week and their schedule. You don't have to make any type of commitment, you want to come do one that's fine or come once a month, doesn't matter. If you're at all interested e-mail me at dave.pemberton@oakpress.com. So far I have just the first one lined up with Jake Bondarek from freshprinceoftheblog.com. You will be allowed to promote your blog on the video as well as post the video to your blog. Plus you get to talk Pistons to a large audience.

Oakland beat writer Paul Kampe sits down with OU associate head coach Jeff Tungate, senior point guard Johnathon Jones and freshman Drew Valentine.

Grizz Talk is back and with a new host, new Oakland beat writer Paul Kampe. Kampe (no relation to Oakland coach Greg Kampe) sits down with OU coach Greg Kampe, senior forward Derick Nelson and strength and conditioning coach Todd Wohlfeil to discuss offseason and preseason conditioning.

1. Oakland — The Golden Grizzlies look to be in great position to win their first regular season league title since the 1999-2000 season (Oakland’s first in the Summit) and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. Oakland returns four starters from last year’s team that reached the Summit League championship game and return former leading scorer Derick Nelson, who missed last season with a medical redshirt. Senior point guard Johnathon Jones and junior center Keith Benson are two of the league’s premier players. Will Hudson, Blake Cushingberrry and Drew Maynard all started at times last season and are back. Oakland also adds Larry Wright, who sat out last season after transferring from St. John’s.
2. IUPUI — The Jaguars return seven of their eight rotation players from last season’s squad, which went 16-14, 8-5 Summit. Robert Glenn, the newcomer of the year last season, is IUPUI’s top returning player. Glenn averaged 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds last year. Sophomore Alex Young is back after a solid freshman season where he averaged 10.8 points. Other key players back include Leroy Nobles (9.9 points, 1.4 3-pointers) Jon Avery (9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds), Billy Pettiford (5.0 points, 5.9 rebounds) and Adrian Moss (4.8 points).
3. Oral Roberts — The Golden Eagles lost two first-team all-league players in Robert Jarvis and Marcus Lewis to graduation, but should reload with a solid core back and a group of highly touted newcomers. Sophomore Dominique Morrison is ORU’s leading returning scorer at 9.6 per game. Kevin Ford (9.4 points and 7.4 rebounds) and Kyron Stokes ( points) should also play key roles. The list of newcomers who could make an immediate impact include SE Missouri State transfer Roderick Pearson, freshman Hunter McClintock, freshman Damen Bell-Holter, freshman Warren Niles, Northern Oklahoma College transfer Javier Nasarre and Independence CC transfer Michael Craion.
4. South Dakota State — The Jacks return seven of their top eight players minute wise last season. Senior Garrett Callahan (15.8 points, 2.4 3-pointers) and Anthony Cordova (12 points, 6.7 rebounds) started all 33 games last season for SDSU. Clint Sargent (14.1 points), Kai Williams (9.8 points, 7.1 rebounds), Dale Moss (6.1 points), Griffan Callahan (5.4 points) and Michael Palarca (3.2 points) are also key returnees. With the conference tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. the Jacks could be a dangerous team in March, but first have to end their 18-game road losing streak in league play.
5. IPFW — The Mastodons return four starters in sharpshooter Ben Botts (11.3 points), Nick Daniels (8.4 points), Zach Plackemeier (7.7 points) and Trey McCorkle (3.2 points). IPFW also returns Summit League sixth man of the year Deilvez Yearby (9.1 points, 6.3 rebounds). Newcomers include Lamar CC transfer Antwone Snead, Cloud CC transfer Oleg Kovalov and freshman Eli Lee.
6. North Dakota State — The Bison lose four starters from last year’s Summit League championship team. Junior Michael Tveidt, who averaged 9.8 points per game last year, is NDSU’s lone returning starter. The Bison were dealt a blow when Freddy Coleman was likely lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Dejuan Flowers (3.3 points) should play a key role this season. Head coach Saul Phillips will likely need a few newcomers to step in and fill key roles.
7. Southern Utah — The Thunderbirds will be a young team this season with six freshman and two sophomores. Davis Baker (17.4 points and 4.5 rebounds) and Jake Nielson (5.8 points) are the only returning players, who logged significant minutes last season.
8. Western Illinois — Head coach Jim Molinari is hoping for a better second season after the Leathernecks lost four of their last five and missed the conference tournament last season. WIU lost its two leading scorers (David DuBois and Josh Rivers) to graduation so Molinari will look to players like Ceola Clark (7.7 points), David Nurse (8.4 points), Quenton Kirby (6.0 points) and Tommie Tyler (3.4 points) to carry the load.
9. UMKC — The Kangaroos certainly want to forget last season, which saw them finish dead last in the Summit League. UMKC has a two promising young players in Spencer Johnson (10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds), Latreze Mushatt (9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds). The Kangaroos are also hoping Evansville transfer Jay Couisnard can come in and contribute right away.
10. Centenary — The Gents are likely in for a long season as they prepare to drop down to Division 3 and are not eligible for the conference tournament this season. Promising young players Chase Adams and Gary Redus have transferred away. Key players for the Gents this season will likely be Maxx Nakwaasah, David Perez, Daman Starring and Jerald Bonham.

I no longer get a preseason vote for the Summit League all-conference team. That honor goes to The Oakland Press' new Oakland beat writer Paul Kampe. (I am now the paper's Pistons beat writer for those that care). But this is the how I would vote for the all-league team. I will have my predicted order of finish for the league later in the week.

1. Johnathon Jones, (Sr.) Oakland — Jones is everything you want in a point guard. He distributes, he can score, he defends and he’s a leader on the court. Who Oakland’s most talented player is up for debate, but Jones is the Grizzlies most important player. Jones led the nation in assists per game (8.1) and averaged 12.9 points per game last season.
2. Keith Benson, (Jr.) Oakland — Benson improved by leaps and bounds last season, and established himself as the dominant big man in the Summit League. Benson has the potential to garner national attention and will get his chance with Oakland’s brutal non-conference schedule. Benson was second in the league in rebounding (8.3 per game), first in blocks (3.2) and eighth in scoring (16.6) last season.
3. Garrett Callahan, (Sr.) South Dakota State — Callahan was the Jacks most consistent player last season and will likely be the league’s top outside shooter this season. Callahan was ninth in the league in scoring (16.1 per game) and fourth in 3-pointers (42).
4. Derick Nelson, (Sr.) Oakland — Nelson entered last season as a possible Summit League Player of the Year candidate before a broken foot forced him into a medical redshirt. A healthy Nelson will be a huge boost for Oakland. Nelson led the Grizzlies in scoring (17.3 per game) and rebounding (7.4) during the 2007-08 season.
5. Robert Glenn, (Sr.) IUPUI — The Wabash Valley transfer emerged as a star for the Jaguars in his first year with the team last season. He averaged 16.7 points and 6.1 rebounds during league play, and was third in the league in blocks (1.7).
6. Dominique Morrison, (Soph.) Oral Roberts — Morrison often deferred to Robert Jarvis and Marcus Lewis as a freshman last season, but now will have the green light as the Golden Eagles No. 1 option. He averaged 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds a game as a freshman.
7. Alex Young, (Soph.) IUPUI — Young showed flashes of why IUPUI coach Ron Hunter compared him to former star George Hill, but was inconsistent and came off the bench for part of the season. With a year under his belt, Young should start to realize some of his potential.
8. Davis Baker, (Sr.) Southern Utah — The Thunderbirds will rely heavily on Baker, who was fifth in the league in scoring last season, averaging 17.6 per game. Baker is just one of five players back for Southern Utah this season.
9. Michael Tveidt, (Jr.) North Dakota State — Tveidt was often the fourth option for the Bison last season, behind the big three of Ben Woodside, Brett Winkelman and Mike Nelson. Tveidt still averaged 9.8 points per game and will be a much bigger part of the offense as NDSU’s only returning starter.
10. Anthony Cordova, (Jr.) South Dakota State — Cordova has the potential to be one of the league’s top big men after averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season. Cordova could be the key to whether or not the Jacks can contend for one of the league’s top three spots.
11. Deilvez Yearby, (Sr.) IPFW — Yearby was the Summit League sixth man of the year last season and provides the Mastodons with a solid inside presence on both ends of the floor. Yearby was eighth in the league in rebounding (6.3 per game) and second in blocks (1.8).

Next five (in no order): Spencer Johnson, UMKC; Clint Sargent, South Dakota State; Ceola Clark, Western Illinois; Kevin Ford, Oral Roberts; Larry Wright, Oakland.