Ray McCallum, would Detroit be a smart move?

[Seymore Cox]

Is it a good move for him to play for a 7-23 team? McCallum Sr. has already picked up some Indianapolis AAU kids through following his son.

Ray McCallum Jr. knows that, coming from a likely lock for the 2010 McDonald’s All-American game, this will come across as disingenuous and rehearsed and, for lack of a better phrase, a bunch of hogwash.

He can sense the immediate eye roll reaction when he says that he’s, “REALLY looking at staying home and playing for Detroit Mercy.”

Really?

So no Kansas, Duke, Florida, Michigan State, Oklahoma, UCLA or Arizona?

Sure, McCullam, a 6-1 point guard from Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Mich., is one of the top floor generals in the 2010 class, but if ever there were a reason to buck the tide it would be to play for your dad, even if he only managed a 7-23 record in his first season as head coach.

“No one believes that I’m serious when I say that,” says McCullam. “My dad (Ray McCallum Sr.) taught me the game. It’s attractive because it would be a chance to bring some players with me and get Detroit on the map. I just want to go to a school where I will start as a freshman. I want to lead the team and play my game. But it’s hard to decide.”

Not so much for Ray Sr. when it comes to recruiting. Even NCAA rules don’t overstep his right to be a father, meaning as long as McCallum is playing, Ray Sr. can attend all of his games.

“I go everywhere to watch him,” says Ray Sr., even if that means traveling out of the country. Ray Sr. will tag along when his son plays in the World Basketball Tournament in Douai, France June 8-15 as a member of the 2K Sports Preseason All-American team.

“It’s like a routine,” says McCallum, who averaged 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals for Country Day last season. “It wouldn’t even feel right not having him there. He’s always been there. That’s just the routine.”

McCallum is very much a creature of habit. Every day when the last bell has rang and the steady screech of sneakers in the hallway at Country Day has subsided, McCallum heads home and downs a bowl of “Wendy Mac’s famous soup.”

“Oh man it’s sooo good,” McCullam says of his mother Wendy’s soup. “It’s legendary. My teammates come over and beg for it and everything.”

After the snack, he piles into Wendy’s charcoal black Chevy Suburban and makes the 15-minute drive to Detroit Mercy to workout with Ray Sr.

“We go hard,” says Ray Sr. “Everything. Shots, drills, weights… It’s important to get into that routine.”

Ray Sr. would know. He ended his career at Ball State in 1983 as the Mid-American Conference’s all-time leading scorer (2,109 points), and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s best senior under 6-feet.

But as relentless as he was a player, Ray Sr. is borderline passive when it comes to recruiting his son. “I haven’t even formally offered him,” says Ray Sr. “He knows he can play for me, but I don’t push that on him at all.”

Still, with a conceding chuckle, Ray Sr. will admit this much: When he’s fielding calls from Billy Donovan and Mike Krzyzewski, it’s hard not to feel a little awkward.

“What can you say about the other schools recruiting him?” asks Ray Sr. “You just have to give them respect. Every coach has great credibility. He’s been around this stuff his whole life, and it’s a tough process.”

But it doesn’t have to be. Ray Sr. can lighten the load for his son, ease his stress and put him back in the, ahem, driver’s seat as he navigates through the twists and turns of the recruiting process.

“Well, now see it’s like this… I don’t have a car yet,” jokes Ray Jr. “So I’m telling my dad now that, ya know, if he really wants me to play there, he’s got to come with the car. If he does that, they may really be in business.”

 

[Seymore Cox]

LAS VEGAS - Ray McCallum Jr. and Trey Zeigler both glanced up in the stands, taking inventory of the college coaches on hand to watch them play. UCLA head coach Ben Howland and Wake Forest's Dino Gaudio were courtside as were assistant coaches from both North Carolina and Duke.


Trey Zeigler, left, and Ray McCallum Jr., right, have to choose between playing for their dads or signing with an elite college hoops program. (Jim Hawkins / Scout.com)
But Ray McCallum and Ernie Zeigler were nowhere to be found.

"He came late — the last four minutes of the game," said the younger McCallum, who along with Zeigler, is one of the top recruits in the country.

"My dad walked into the gym in the middle of the first half," added Zeigler.

"I'm going to let him know everyone else was here," McCallum added with a smile. "I think I'm going to hold it against him."

McCallum is kidding.

I think.

You see, McCallum and Zeigler — who comprise the starting backcourt for Team Detroit — have as difficult a decision as anyone in the entire country.

Do they become the cornerstone of their father's mid-major programs or join one of the elite college basketball programs in the nation?

It's not as easy as it sounds.

"Confusing," said Little Ray.

"Very hard," added the younger Zeigler. "I think about it every day."

It's no walk in the park for the dads, either.

Zeigler is entering his fourth season as the head coach at Central Michigan with a three-year mark of 39-54. His son, who is also being recruited by the likes of UCLA (where his father was an assistant to Howland) and several other high-major schools, could give dad a significant boost.


"If we're not as good as I think we're going to be this year, do I want to bring my son into a situation where I'm in the last year of my contract?"
— Central Michigan coach Ernie Zeigler
"It's tough because you want what's best for your son," Ernie Zeigler said. "But it's a tough balance."

"If we're not as good as I think we're going to be this year, do I want to bring my son into a situation where I'm in the last year of my contract?" he added.

McCallum is coming off his first season at the helm at Detroit, a 7-23 campaign, and can relate to Zeigler. If his son does, in fact, decide to play for him, it could change everything.

Both players would not only be guys to build around, but other players — ones that both Detroit and Central Michigan can't normally get involved with — may follow.

McCallum is considered as one of the elite point guards in the nation and has a list of suitors that includes UCLA, Arizona, Michigan, Duke and Kansas.

"It's hard," Little Ray said. "Am I going to play for my dad and Detroit and help turn that program around or go to a high-level program where I can get the TV exposure and everything else? It's just really confusing."

What makes it even more difficult is that both kids grew up around big-time college basketball. Zeigler around the Pittsburgh and UCLA programs and McCallum around Indiana and Oklahoma.

On Wednesday morning, which opened the second half of the ever-important July recruiting period, Zeigler and McCallum sat in the front row of the bleachers.


Not with their peers, but in the family section.

"Sometimes it's hard to separate being a father and a coach," Zeigler admitted.

The McCallums have rarely spoken about the recruiting process. Ray wanted his son to go through July and sort everything out before they started to get serious.

The Zeiglers have taken a different tact.

"We do talk about it a lot," Trey said. "He doesn't put any pressure on me, but we definitely talk about it. There's no question it's an option to play for my dad, a realistic one. I could definitely see myself playing there."

Ditto for McCallum.

The two fathers have known each other since Zeigler used to go to McCallum's camps back in the day. The two sons became nearly inseparable ever since they met in the seventh grade through their fathers.

"We always talk about it," Ray McCallum Jr. said. "Trey and I are going through the same thing, so it's nice to have someone you can talk to about it."

Both sneak one more peek up and down the bleachers early in Wednesday's game, taking inventory of those who are there — and a couple coaches in particular who weren't quite so prompt.

"I was frustrated. I had the wrong game time," said the older McCallum.

"I don't know if UD is really interested," his son says while laughing.

The interest level is high, but it's not quite so simple.

 

[Cheno]

I think it would be great if he went to play for his dad

 

[Seymore Cox]

I think it would be great if he went to play for his dad

I love his dad. One of my favorite assistants at OU. However I'm kind of taken by what Felton Capel II did in regards to his two sons. Jeff could have went to NC A&T and garnered 4 much personal success and improved his father's stock. Jason could have went to ODU and maybe helped them knock off a team in the tourney and averaged 30pts a game. I think their father purposely steered them away from that for better decisions. Jeff parlayed his decisions into coaching and has put himself in line for one of the biggest jobs in basketball through his decision. Jason used his capital to do some work for UNC in the media, a job with ESPN, and now as an assistant to a UNC alum Buzz Peterson. Now is that to say going to Detroit will ruin McCallum? No. But the down the road life advantages of going to a Kansas, UNC, Kentucky, or Duke will keep these guys connected in the game. We see the same thing with OU football players. Jason White a guy who washed up in the NFL is now a 25 year old business owner. Billy Sims has always been supported by the OU fanbase despite personal struggles.

 

[elmocarp]

I love his dad. One of my favorite assistants at OU. However I'm kind of taken by what Felton Capel II did in regards to his two sons. Jeff could have went to NC A&T and garnered 4 much personal success and improved his father's stock. Jason could have went to ODU and maybe helped them knock off a team in the tourney and averaged 30pts a game. I think their father purposely steered them away from that for better decisions. Jeff parlayed his decisions into coaching and has put himself in line for one of the biggest jobs in basketball through his decision. Jason used his capital to do some work for UNC in the media, a job with ESPN, and now as an assistant to a UNC alum Buzz Peterson. Now is that to say going to Detroit will ruin McCallum? No. But the down the road life advantages of going to a Kansas, UNC, Kentucky, or Duke will keep these guys connected in the game. We see the same thing with OU football players. Jason White a guy who washed up in the NFL is now a 25 year old business owner. Billy Sims has always been supported by the OU fanbase despite personal struggles.

There is a chance I am remembering this wrong, but I am pretty sure I've heard Capel say that both he and his brother were down to their final 2 schools (Duke and UNC in both cases) but continued to list their dad's school as a finalist as well. He acknowledged that it was to help the program's visibility and recruiting. It was pretty interesting hearing him tell the story.

 

[Sawyer]

I love his dad. One of my favorite assistants at OU. However I'm kind of taken by what Felton Capel II did in regards to his two sons. Jeff could have went to NC A&T and garnered 4 much personal success and improved his father's stock. Jason could have went to ODU and maybe helped them knock off a team in the tourney and averaged 30pts a game. I think their father purposely steered them away from that for better decisions. Jeff parlayed his decisions into coaching and has put himself in line for one of the biggest jobs in basketball through his decision. Jason used his capital to do some work for UNC in the media, a job with ESPN, and now as an assistant to a UNC alum Buzz Peterson. Now is that to say going to Detroit will ruin McCallum? No. But the down the road life advantages of going to a Kansas, UNC, Kentucky, or Duke will keep these guys connected in the game. We see the same thing with OU football players. Jason White a guy who washed up in the NFL is now a 25 year old business owner. Billy Sims has always been supported by the OU fanbase despite personal struggles.

At the same time... if he's able to parlay a season or two at Detroit into an NBA career, he won't be losing much by forgoing a more traditional college choice.

There are definitely advantages in playing for a school with a huge fanbase... but each individual player still needs to put in work to make something of himself. For every alum who runs a successful business, there's one struggling to get by. If the player puts in the work in the classroom and in life, he'll likely be successful wherever he goes.

 

[Sooner79]

If he really wants to start as a freshman, then playing for his dad is the best option.

 

[EufaulaSooner]

Not only is it difficult for the kids, but it has crossed my mind that it must be awkward for Capel to recruit Ray knowing that he is competing against the guy's own father. How do you sit there on the living room couch and make your pitch to the kid as to why your school is the best option, knowing that the competition is sitting right there? Normally you would be making that pitch to the parents as well as to the kid - "you should send your kid to my program" - but in this case, the parent is also your competition.

 

[Sam]

I think Jeff might be better at then you would initially assume because Coach K was able to sell Duke to him in a similar manner as he would to Ray.