McCallum Declares for NBA Draft
DETROIT -- University of Detroit Mercy junior guard Ray McCallum (Beverly Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day) announced today that he will forgo his final year of eligibility and submit the necessary paperwork to declare for early entry into the 2013 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft.
“I want to thank the University of Detroit Mercy, my coaching staff and my teammates. I've enjoyed my three years with them,” said McCallum. “It has been very special playing for my father and helping to build the basketball program to a championship level.”
“It has been an outstanding experience coaching Ray. I am proud to see his growth over the last three years,” stated head coach Ray McCallum. “As his coach and father I am supporting him in his pursuit to becoming a professional basketball player.”
McCallum, the 2013 Horizon League Player of the Year and Lute Olson All-American, helped lead Detroit to its second-straight postseason appearance with a trip to the NIT, along with recording its second-straight 20 win season finishing 20-13 overall.
This past season he led the Titans in points (18.7), assists (4.5) and steals (1.9) for the third-straight season as well as minutes played (36.6). He also led the Horizon League in scoring and steals, while finishing second in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and minutes played. McCallum was also sixth in field goal percentage (49.1) and had at least one steal in all but six games, while scoring in double figures in all but five games on the season.
McCallum recorded the best single game performance of the last decade in division I basketball with 16 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in Titans win over Cleveland State. The last player to put up those numbers was Connecticut's Ben Gordon with 17 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals vs. Iona in December 2003.
In addition to All-Horizon League first team honors, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 12 first team and was one of 10 student-athletes to be named to the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team.
An All-Horizon League first teamer as a sophomore and second team member as a freshman, McCallum played with Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China. The U.S. went 7-1 at the tournament and took home fifth place. McCallum played in all eight games, averaging 4.5 points and 0.9 assists in just over 10 minutes per contest.
McCallum compiled 1,618 points to rank eighth on Detroit's all-time scoring list, while also ranking fourth in steals (175) and seventh in assists (451). He is just the second Titan to rank among the top-10 in all three of those categories. Among Horizon League men’s basketball players, McCallum concludes his career 39th on the conference’s all-time scoring list.
The 2013 NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will air at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
