DETROIT – No more Ray McCallum.
Well, that’s not true – the elder McCallum is still the head coach of the Titans. But the younger McCallum, last year’s Horizon League Player of the Year, is gone to the NBA, drafted by the Sacramento Kings.
And while that’s good news for the head coach, it was one of several personnel losses for Detroit. In addition, impact players Nick Minnerath and Doug Anderson also moved on to pro ball. Jason Calliste transferred out of the program. Practically the entire starting lineup from the 2012-13 season is gone.
Now, the Titans – who won the Horizon League tournament championship just two seasons ago – are ranked eighth in the preseason poll.
“Right now, we have a team that is developing and evolving each and every day,” Coach McCallum said at the Horizon League men’s basketball media day.
“We’re in a state where it’s transition. We lost a lot of points and rebounds and minutes and experience in that group of guys. They understood what the Horizon League was all about and what it took to be successful.”
Most of his roster built of underclassmen and transfers, McCallum knows he’ll have to look to his players who have been there before to lead his team.
“Right now, we’ll rely on our experienced guys – Evan Bruinsma, Juwan Howard; guys that have been through the Horizon League,” McCallum said. “They have to do a lot. They have to play well, they have to be vocal, they have to lead and teach the younger players what this is all about. We’ll depend on our returning players to establish our identity for this season and play the way we like to play.”
Howard is a transfer junior from Western Michigan who fell out of the starting lineup late last season. The forward will be looked to as an impact player this year.
Bruinsma is one of four seniors on the roster, but the only one who has spent his entire four-year career with the Titans. This will be the forward’s first season as a full-time starter.
“It will be a little different,” Bruinsma said. “Toward the end of last year, I started maybe the last seven games or so, so I got a little bit of experience there. It will be a different role.
“Last year we had a lot of upper classmen, a lot of guys who had been around before. This year, it’s more of a leadership role … [I] have to take a leadership role and be more vocal, lead some of the guys who haven’t been around, haven’t played a lot of minutes or haven’t played at all in college. It’s a different role, but I think we’ll be up to it and we can handle it.”
Thankfully for McCallum and Bruinsma, the Titans have a core of young players who will look to make a fast impact on the program. This includes Michigan transfer Carlton Brundidge.
“He was one of the top guys in the Detroit area,” McCallum said. “He’s a guy that loves the game. He’s a great kid and we have an opportunity for him to do a lot of things for us. I think he’s off to a great start. He’s a hard worker and he really fits our style.”
Brundidge is one of several young guards McCallum hopes will make an early impact. Other include Paris Bass, a Detroit prep star who committed late.
“I think that he’s doing a good job in transitioning,” McCallum said. “He’s a very talented player, a very versatile player. We’re really pleased with him.
“I really like our young guards. We have nice collection of freshman and sophomore guards.”
Tags: Detroit Mercy - Men's Basketball
