McCallum Lands Detroit-Mercy Job

BLOOMINGTON – Ray McCallum was introduced as the new head coach at Detroit-Mercy on Friday after spending the last two seasons as an IU assistant.

The 47-year-old McCallum takes over for Perry Watson, who retired after 15 years at the Horizon League school.

“This is a tremendous day,” McCallum said. “UDM has a great basketball tradition and I’m glad to be part of the next chapter.”

Watson retired after going 261-198 in 15 years at UDM. His run included 10 winning seasons (including nine straight from 1996-2004) and three Horizon League championships. His 1998 and 1999 squads both earned spots in the NCAA tourney and posted first-round wins over St. John’s and UCLA, respectively.

But UDM has fallen on hard times as of late. The Titans haven’t had a winning season since 2004, and Watson’s last two teams went a combined 18-42 overall and 9-25 in the Horizon League.

One of the McCallum’s first tasks will be connecting with the high school coaches in the Detroit area, which generally supplies UDM with most of its talent.

“I have recruited in the area throughout my coaching career and I know the passion for basketball Detroit fans possess,” McCallum said.

This is McCallum’s third head coaching job. He compiled a 126-76 record in seven years at Ball State, leading his alma mater to NCAA tourney berths in both 1995 and 2000. McCallum then went to Houston, where his teams went 44-73 in four years and earned a spot in the 2002 NIT.