Detroit Hires Ray McCallum As Men's Basketball Head Coach
April 11, 2008
DETROIT, Mich. - Ray McCallum -a veteran of more than 20 years in college basketball and, most recently, assistant head coach at Indiana University - has been hired as the University of Detroit Mercy's new head coach. UDM athletic director Keri Gaither made the announcement today during a press conference at Calihan Hall.
McCallum becomes the 20th head coach in the rich history of Titans basketball. He replaces Perry Watson, who retired from the position on March 5.
"This is a tremendous day. UDM has a great basketball tradition and I'm glad to be part of the next chapter," coach McCallum said. "I have recruited in the area throughout my coaching career and I know the passion for basketball Detroit fans do possess. I'm very pleased that the UDM administration has chosen me for this position."
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. His experience is expected to pay dividends in bringing Titans basketball back to prominence.
"Coach McCallum's track record speaks for itself, but I am also very pleased with the way he has put emphasis on the word 'student,' in talking of the many student-athletes from a wide variety of backgrounds that he has worked with during his career," Fr. Gerard Stockhausen, S.J., Ph.D, President, said. "His vision for Titan basketball is very consistent with the mission of our University. We welcome coach McCallum and his family to the University of Detroit Mercy."
"Coach McCallum brings with him all of the key elements we were looking for in our new head basketball coach," Gaither added. "He has a wealth of head coaching experience and he is a proven recruiter. Both of those qualities stood out during our search process. We expect them to pay dividends for the Titans. At the same time, his commitment to academics is exactly what we sought to benefit the student-athletes in our men's basketball program. We think he is a great addition to our coaching staff."
McCallum has brought a winner's touch with him to all of the stops he has made in his 24-year coaching career, which began at Ball State in 1983-84 as a volunteer assistant coach.
He served as an assistant at Wisconsin for the next nine seasons, helping a program that hadn't been to post-season play since 1947 to NIT berths in 1989, 1991 and 1993. He had a brief stint as an assistant at Michigan after that latter campaign, before quickly returning to Ball State to make his head coaching debut during the 1993-94 season.
The Cardinals posted a 126-76 record during McCallum's seven-year tenure. McCallum directed Ball State to two NCAA Tournament appearances (1995, 2000) and an NIT berth (1998) and became the first coach in Ball State history to post seven consecutive winning seasons. During his head coaching career at Ball State, McCallum recruited and coached Bonzi Wells, who was the 11th pick of the 1998 NBA Draft and currently plays for the Houston Rockets. When he left BSU for Houston in 2000, McCallum's .624 winning percentage was the fourth-best in the MAC's 53-year history.
McCallum served as head coach at Houston for four seasons. In 2002, he led the Cougars to an 18-15 mark and a berth in the NIT, Houston's first post-season tournament appearance in nine years. Houston finished 9-7 in Conference USA's National Division that year, and advanced to the league tournament semi-finals for the first time. During his stay in Houston, he played an integral role in the development of Andre Owens, who currently plays for the Indiana Pacers and is one of eight NBA players McCallum has coached during their college careers.
Most recently, McCallum has been 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. Recruiting classes at both schools, while McCallum was on their staffs, ranked among the Top 5 in the nation. Oklahoma won its first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship in 2005 while McCallum was a part of the Sooners staff. Among the coach's protgs at Indiana was a pair of 2008 Associated Press All-Americans, D.J. White and Eric Gordon.
"I'm excited to have Ray join our family of men's basketball coaches in the Horizon League. He is an experienced, veteran head coach and I'm sure he will do a fantastic job at UDM," HL commissioner Jon LeCrone said. "He's great for our league and he's great for UDM. With his experience and background, he's really a very good fit. We've just added another outstanding coach to our league."
An outstanding player in his own right, 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 collegiately 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. He also earned first-team All-MAC honors for the third straight year, ending his career as the MAC's all-time leading scorer with 2,109 points. Additionally, he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation's best senior under six-feet tall. He became the first BSU athlete to have his jersey retired in any sport. McCallum graduated from Ball State in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in industrial technology.
One week after graduation, the Indiana Pacers selected him in the 1983 NBA Draft. One of the final players cut in training camp, McCallum played briefly in the CBA before returning to Ball State to begin his coaching career.
McCallum and his wife, Wendy, are the parents of a daughter, Brittany Rae (18), and a son, Ray Michael (16).
