Detroit news
Aug 9, 2008 20:53:29 GMT -5
Post by Tipp City Raider on Aug 9, 2008 20:53:29 GMT -5
August 7, 2008
He's taking on a TITANIC challenge
By Jim Evans
Daily Tribune Sports Writer
DETROIT -- University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball coach Ray McCallum heard the word "can't" plenty of times in his life. "Won't" and "don't" were familiar refrains, too.
As in "You can't play because you are too small," or "You won't make the team, so don't even bother trying out."
A word of warning: Don't try to bring that sort of negativity McCallum's way. The new man at UDM will slap it away without a moment of hesitation.
"They have had some great basketball teams here," said McCallum, sitting in a seat in the vacant upper stretches of Calihan Hall earlier this week. "In the late 1970s and early 1980s, people like Terry Tyler, John Long, and Terry Duerod were national names. The University of Detroit teams were national news. Their highlights were televised nationally. I remember going to Ball State to watch them play," said McCallum.
Although Perry Watson had some outstanding teams during his tenure, none captured the imagination like those that filled Calihan Hall all those years ago.
McCallum, a veteran of more than 20 years coaching college basketball, plans on restoring the luster to the program.
Plenty of folks will say it can't be done, or it won't be possible. McCallum spent most of his early life in basketball proving doubters wrong.
He was hired as the new coach at the University of Detroit Mercy back in April. His 24 years of coaching included his most recent stop as the assistant head coach at Indiana University. He replaces Watson, who retired from the position March 5.
McCallum brings 11 years of head coaching experience with him to UDM, having previously served in that role at his alma mater, Ball State (1994-2000), as well as Houston (2001-04). He took four teams to post-season play during his career at those schools.Most recently, McCallum was a key assistant on the coaching staffs at Oklahoma (2004-06) and Indiana (2006-08), and was a part of four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with those teams.
As a player, McCallum was a member of two state championship teams at Central High School in Muncie, IN. As a senior in 1979, he was a starting guard and was named the Most Valuable Player of the state championship game after leading Central to its second straight state title.
He stayed in Muncie to play at Ball State, where he was named the MAC's Freshman of the Year after leading the Cardinals in scoring with 16.5 points per game. As a sophomore, McCallum again led the Cardinals in scoring, this time with 18.4 points per game, and helped them finish the season with a 20-10 record and a share the MAC championship. Ball State also earned a NCAA Tournament invitation for the first time in school history that year. The following season, McCallum led the Cardinals in scoring once again with a 17.6 average, and Ball State won its first outright MAC Championship.
As a senior, McCallum was named MAC Player of the Year and conference tournament MVP. Additionally, he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation's best senior under six-feet tall.
All this from a kid deemed too small by many even to make the varsity team back at Central High School in Muncie.
"I did not even think I was going to make the varsity as a junior," said McCallum, who is all of 5-9. "There were a lot of seniors trying out. I made it, but I was not a starter or anything. The next year, before my senior season, I was not sure I was going to make it again."
But he did make it. He worked hard to do just that.
"My dad got up for work at 6 every morning. I'd get up at the same time and run two or three miles before school," said McCallum.
His dad worked for the power company. The job did not come with oak paneling and a cushy chair complete with hydraulics. It was hard work. It was honest work, and he taught his son to never give anything less than an honest effort.
"I was always the first one at the gym, and the last to leave," said McCallum. "Central High School in Muncie has won more state championships than any other school in Indiana. The expectation was to succeed."
Those expectations had to be earned for McCallum. He is working hard to resurrect the program at UDM. The Titans struggled to a 7-23 overall record, and a 3-15 mark in the Horizon League.
The program was beginning to deteriorate in Watson's final seasons. The same coach who produced 10 winning seasons in his first 11 years all of sudden was putting up less-than-sterling records like 14-16, 16-16 and 11-19 in the three seasons prior to 2007-2008.
Still, Watson deserves respect. He is the second-winningest head coach in Titan history behind only Bob Calihan. He guided two teams to the NCAA Tournament (1998 and 1999) and two more to the NIT (2001 and 2002).
There is a new man guiding the program at UDM. Don't worry, Ray McCallum will not punch out until the work is done.
www.dailytribune.com/stories/080708/spo_sports01.shtml
He's taking on a TITANIC challenge
By Jim Evans
Daily Tribune Sports Writer
DETROIT -- University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball coach Ray McCallum heard the word "can't" plenty of times in his life. "Won't" and "don't" were familiar refrains, too.
As in "You can't play because you are too small," or "You won't make the team, so don't even bother trying out."
A word of warning: Don't try to bring that sort of negativity McCallum's way. The new man at UDM will slap it away without a moment of hesitation.
"They have had some great basketball teams here," said McCallum, sitting in a seat in the vacant upper stretches of Calihan Hall earlier this week. "In the late 1970s and early 1980s, people like Terry Tyler, John Long, and Terry Duerod were national names. The University of Detroit teams were national news. Their highlights were televised nationally. I remember going to Ball State to watch them play," said McCallum.
Although Perry Watson had some outstanding teams during his tenure, none captured the imagination like those that filled Calihan Hall all those years ago.
McCallum, a veteran of more than 20 years coaching college basketball, plans on restoring the luster to the program.
Plenty of folks will say it can't be done, or it won't be possible. McCallum spent most of his early life in basketball proving doubters wrong.
He was hired as the new coach at the University of Detroit Mercy back in April. His 24 years of coaching included his most recent stop as the assistant head coach at Indiana University. He replaces Watson, who retired from the position March 5.
McCallum brings 11 years of head coaching experience with him to UDM, having previously served in that role at his alma mater, Ball State (1994-2000), as well as Houston (2001-04). He took four teams to post-season play during his career at those schools.Most recently, McCallum was a key assistant on the coaching staffs at Oklahoma (2004-06) and Indiana (2006-08), and was a part of four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with those teams.
As a player, McCallum was a member of two state championship teams at Central High School in Muncie, IN. As a senior in 1979, he was a starting guard and was named the Most Valuable Player of the state championship game after leading Central to its second straight state title.
He stayed in Muncie to play at Ball State, where he was named the MAC's Freshman of the Year after leading the Cardinals in scoring with 16.5 points per game. As a sophomore, McCallum again led the Cardinals in scoring, this time with 18.4 points per game, and helped them finish the season with a 20-10 record and a share the MAC championship. Ball State also earned a NCAA Tournament invitation for the first time in school history that year. The following season, McCallum led the Cardinals in scoring once again with a 17.6 average, and Ball State won its first outright MAC Championship.
As a senior, McCallum was named MAC Player of the Year and conference tournament MVP. Additionally, he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation's best senior under six-feet tall.
All this from a kid deemed too small by many even to make the varsity team back at Central High School in Muncie.
"I did not even think I was going to make the varsity as a junior," said McCallum, who is all of 5-9. "There were a lot of seniors trying out. I made it, but I was not a starter or anything. The next year, before my senior season, I was not sure I was going to make it again."
But he did make it. He worked hard to do just that.
"My dad got up for work at 6 every morning. I'd get up at the same time and run two or three miles before school," said McCallum.
His dad worked for the power company. The job did not come with oak paneling and a cushy chair complete with hydraulics. It was hard work. It was honest work, and he taught his son to never give anything less than an honest effort.
"I was always the first one at the gym, and the last to leave," said McCallum. "Central High School in Muncie has won more state championships than any other school in Indiana. The expectation was to succeed."
Those expectations had to be earned for McCallum. He is working hard to resurrect the program at UDM. The Titans struggled to a 7-23 overall record, and a 3-15 mark in the Horizon League.
The program was beginning to deteriorate in Watson's final seasons. The same coach who produced 10 winning seasons in his first 11 years all of sudden was putting up less-than-sterling records like 14-16, 16-16 and 11-19 in the three seasons prior to 2007-2008.
Still, Watson deserves respect. He is the second-winningest head coach in Titan history behind only Bob Calihan. He guided two teams to the NCAA Tournament (1998 and 1999) and two more to the NIT (2001 and 2002).
There is a new man guiding the program at UDM. Don't worry, Ray McCallum will not punch out until the work is done.
www.dailytribune.com/stories/080708/spo_sports01.shtml