Ray McCallum Jr. leads Generation Next at Country Day
Birmingham Detroit Country Day's Jordan Dumars was basking in the glory of his 30-point game -- which included eight triples -- against Kalamazoo Central in December. He was then asked about teammate Ray McCallum Jr., who's making the transition from Indiana since moving with his dad, Ray, in his first season as the University of Detroit Titans head coach.
“He makes the game so much easier,"
said Dumars. “He’s a great passer and he can score. He takes the pressure off."
Ray Jr. came to Michigan with his own set of credentials.
He was a highly regarded player in the Hoosier State, where his dad was an assistant on Kelvin Sampson’s staff at Indiana.
As a sophomore, he already was being recruited by major colleges.
So when the Titans hired McCallum, the family decided to send Ray Jr. to Country Day, who was already loaded with Dumars (committed to South Florida), 6-foot-11 DaShonte Riley (Georgetown), Donnavan Kirk (Miami, Fla.) and Bennie Fowler (Michigan State for football). The Yellowjackets (14-0) are ranked No. 1 in the state.
The Free Press had the younger McCallum as the third best player in Michigan, behind fellow junior and coach's son Trey Zeigler in Mt. Pleasant and Detroit Pershing junior Keith Appling. He finished ahead of Kirk (No. 6) and Riley (No. 11).
“I’ve just tried to fit in,’
said Ray Jr. “This already was a great team when I came here. I’ve played on about six or seven AAU teams, so adjusting wasn’t really a problem.’
"I knew about the Country Day tradition before I got here, with Chris Webber and Shane Battier. It’s a great school. I think I’m averaging about 19 points and seven assists a game. I’ve tried to get the guys the ball and make sure everybody is involved. It’s a fun group to be around and we know nothing short of a state title will do."
Wendy McCallum said her son’s biggest adjustment may be the homework that comes in piles each night.
“He has a lot of papers and there’s a lot more homework,’’
said Wendy. “I ask him to let me look his papers over, but usually he won’t."
Besides his dad, Bonzi Wells may have had the biggest influence on Ray Jr.'s playing style. The former Ball State star was coached by Ray Sr., the all-time leading scorer in Cardinals history. Before Wells made a name for himself in the NBA, the duo led Ball State to the NCAA tournament in 1999-2000.
“I know my dad was a great shooter, but I try to slash and get to the basket,’’
said Ray Jr. “I liked the way Bonzi played."
Wendy said Ray Jr. would come home from Ball State basketball practices and emulate what he saw Wells do at practice.
“His game is a little different from his dad’s,"
said Wendy. “I know he’s always trying to get DeShonte to dunk the ball to get the team going."
As most relationships between a coach and his son, the McCallums had their “He Got Game’’ turbulent moment while Ray Sr. was a head coach at Houston.
“It was the summer and it was about 100 degrees outside,’’
said Coach McCallum. “He was in the fourth-grade, and he didn’t want to do the work so he went inside and didn’t do anything for about two months. After that he came back and said he was ready to work."
The work has paid off.
