DraftExpress: Who will be the first to write the very obvious story comparing the collegiate paths of Ray McCallum and Trey Zeigler? Place your bets now. 2012-03-14 02:15:02
DraftExpress: Top NBA Prospects in the Non-BCS Conferences: http://t.co/JdgeU9W0 - Tony Mitchell, Andrew Nicholson, Tarik Black, Tu Holloway, Ray McCallum 2011-11-01 01:36:29
DraftExpress: The guy USA missed on was Ray McCallum. Not invited but would have been the perfect floor general. Wrong school/sneaker affiliation? 2011-07-10 10:11:50
Ray McCallum was here working out and apparently looked very good. Here's an interview we did w/him at McD's AA game: http://bit.ly/bgPWgi 2010-08-30 13:27:03
RT @ESPN_CollHoops: Ray McCallum (#17 ESPNU 100) commits to Detroit to play for his dad at home. 2010-04-14 18:58:00
Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Non-BCS Conferences, Part One (#1-5) November 1, 2011
Dan Gaken (Flickr)
Matt Kamalsky
After surprising the recruiting world with his decision to stay home and play for his father at Detroit in lieu of offers from elite programs, Ray McCallum Jr. went on to have a very solid freshman campaign for the Titans. The former McDonald's All-American was one of the top guards in the Horizon League from the day he stepped on campus, and with Shelvin Mack and Norris Cole out of the picture, was named the conference's preseason Player of the Year for this season. After spending his summer as a spot-player for Team USA at the World University Games, McCallum returns to school looking to earn the highly regarded Titans a berth in the NCAA tournament and raise his profile as a prospect to a national level like Cole and Mack.
McCallum may not have elite size for his position by NBA standards, and needs to continue improving his frame, but has the other traits scouts look for in a point guard prospect physically. He has very good quickness which allows him to turn the corner in one-on-one situations, make an impact as a scorer in transition, and apply pressure defensively. As we noted in our last report, the Detroit Country Day product also proves to be surprisingly explosive when given space around the rim.
As a freshman, it was McCallum's athleticism that accounted for the majority of his production on the offensive end –nearly 40% of the young guard's points came in transition according to Synergy Sports Technology. Showing terrific explosiveness pushing the ball up the floor and doing a nice job filling lanes when he wasn't the primary ball-handler, McCallum proved to be shifty in the open floor and showed good body control on his was to shooting 58% in fast break situations.
In half court situations, McCallum was not as effective, shooting just 38% from the field when not on the fast break, and still has room for improvement in a number of areas. Though his quick first step and advanced ball-handling ability allow him to break down defenders one-on-one and get into the paint at a high rate, he is still learning to exploit his quickness in pick and roll situations and needs to continue developing his perimeter jump shot. He does a very job drawing contact when he gets in the lane, but heavily prefers driving to his left, is a bit erratic at times, and would benefit from being a bit more patient and improving his ability to play at different speeds –things that will only come with experience.
Though McCallum could stand to improve upon his 43% shooting in the lane, he already showed some progress as a jump shooter as a freshman. He still has a ways to go to become a major spot-up threat, but the Beverley Hills, MI native made progress from what we saw from him at the McDonald's All-American game. He still sports the same sling-shot-like release, but has smoothed it out to some extent and shot a passable 32% from the perimeter as a freshman. He still has plenty of room to improve in terms of his consistency both with his feet set and off the dribble, but also has plenty of time do so.
As a passer, McCallum's effectiveness mirrors his efficiency as a scorer. According to Synergy Sports Technology, McCallum turn the ball over on only 8.6% of his transition possessions, a stark contrast to that 20.1% mark he posts in half-court sets. Showing good vision and a willingness to give the ball up when one of his teammates has a better shot, McCallum is at his best as a passer when he is distorting the defense with his speed.
To continue balancing his scoring and distributing responsibilities, McCallum needs to become more adept at setting himself up to find his teammates. While he does a nice job driving and dishing, many of his turnovers came on entry passes from poor angles, overly aggressive bullet passes through traffic, and occasions where the young guard lost his balance as a result of good defensive pressure. Despite his shortcomings last season, if McCallum improves on his ability to create angles operating on the pick-and-roll and becomes a tad more discerning early in the shot-clock, his pass first nature and high basketball IQ could make him a consummate floor general.
Defensively, McCallum shows a competitive streak that is quite unusual for a freshman point guard. He gets in a good stance, moves his feet well, and doesn't give up on plays when he's beat. Though his lack of size and strength limit him when contesting shots and defending stronger guards, his lateral quickness makes him a good on-ball defender and a nuisance in passing lanes. McCallum could stand to be a bit more aggressive in the way he fights through screens, but doesn't take too many risks and is a solid defender overall.
Heading in his sophomore seasons, the expectations for the Detroit Titans are among the highest for any mid-major program in the country. The program has an impressive talent-level, and whether Eli Holman's situation is resolved or results in any missed action, McCallum figures heavily in the success of his team's season. Considering his solid motor, physical tools, and natural talent at the point guard position, if he shows development in a few key areas, he could improve his standing on draft boards considerably by season's end. [Read Full Article] Mcdonald's All-American Week Player Evaluations and Interviews April 5, 2010 The dunk contest darling – many felt he was the most impressive of any of the contestants—McCallum had an excellent week here in Columbus and looks like pretty much a dream pickup for a college coach to add to his roster at this late stage.
While clearly not possessing great size—it's unlikely he's over 6 feet, if that—McCallum is obviously a terrific athlete as he displayed throughout the course of the week, showing excellent pace, a quick first step, the ability to change speeds and outstanding leaping ability. He's also a pure point guard on top of that, being a highly unselfish player with strong leadership skills, excellent poise and terrific passing ability.
Jim Hlavac / DraftExpress
His scoring ability remains somewhat of a question mark—it was tough to get a great feel for this part of his game here—as he struggled to convert jump-shots off the dribble and at times lacks the strength to finish effectively around the rim, preferring to utilize his very nice floater rather than taking contact at the basket. He does seem to be a solid shooter with his feet set (his mechanics are solid) so it will be interesting to see how he develops this part of his game at the college level. McCallum is an unselfish guy by nature, but he appeared a bit reluctant to go out and look for his own shot at times, which his college team will surely need him to do when the situation calls for it.
Players in McCallum's mold are very difficult to come by, and the fact that he's the son of a head coach and clearly possesses outstanding intangibles makes him all the more intriguing. He's already drawing comparisons to players like Darren Collison, but probably is even further ahead of him at the same stage. [Read Full Article]
2010 McDonald's High School All-American Dunk Contest Videos April 2, 2010 Things really started getting interesting here, as McCallum used the element of surprise to begin to take the contest to a totally different level. For his first dunk, he passed the ball to himself perfectly--like only a point guard could--caught it off the bounce before bringing it way all the way down between his legs, and then two-hand reverse slammed it home. The dunk earned a 68.
Jim Hlavac, DraftExpress
McCallum’s second dunk was another pass to himself for a spinning two-handed throw-down, good for a score of 69.
[Read Full Article] Initial High School Player Scouting Reports, Part Two August 22, 2009 One of the better pure point guards we saw this summer, Ray McCallum (#26 Scout, #60 Rivals, #36 ESPN) might not blow you away initially with his NBA upside, but he is sure to, at the very least, emerge as an outstanding college player.
Standing somewhere around 6-1, with a skinny frame and above average athleticism, McCallum’s best natural asset is his mind, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that his father is an NCAA head coach. He’s extremely poised, smart and mature, already showing excellent leadership skills, and being a very good decision maker for his age. He knows how to run a team and get all of his teammates involved, and should benefit tremendously from the experience he garners at the college level.
McCallum is not exceptionally quick, but he knows how to get to the rim thanks to his strong ball-handling skills, where he sometimes has issues finishing due to his lack of strength and leaping ability. He can make shots pulling up off the dribble, and seems to have improved his long-range jumper from what we’re told, even if it still seems prone to streakiness at times. Not a big-time scorer, McCallum will need to continue to hone his 3-point shot and in-between game if he’s to reach his full potential as a point guard. Defensively, McCallum doesn’t have great natural tools, but he does put the effort in, which is more than enough to get the job done at this level when you add in his excellent feel for the game. Whoever lands McCallum (all the top programs, including Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Louisville and others are after him) will be getting a player who is ready to contribute right away. [Read Full Article]
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