Saturday, April 27, 2013

Detroit Titans star Ray McCallum enters NBA draft

Detroit Mercy junior guard Ray McCallum Jr. said Saturday he will forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for entry into the NBA draft, a spokesman for the university said.
McCallum, the 2013 Horizon League Player of the Year and Lute Olson All-American, helped lead Detroit to its second straight postseason appearance with a trip to the NIT, along with recording its second-straight 20 win season finishing 20-13 overall. 
This past season he led the Titans in points (18.7), assists (4.5) and steals (1.9) for the third-straight season as well as minutes played (36.6). He also led the Horizon League in scoring and steals, while finishing second in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and minutes played. McCallum was also sixth in field goal percentage (49.1) and had at least one steal in all but six games, while scoring in double figures in all but five games on the season.
“I want to thank the University of Detroit Mercy, my coaching staff and my teammates. I’ve enjoyed my three years with them,” said McCallum. “It has been very special playing for my father and helping to build the basketball program to a championship level.”
“It has been an outstanding experience coaching Ray. I am proud to see his growth over the last three years,” stated coach Ray McCallum. “As his coach and father I am supporting him in his pursuit to becoming a professional basketball player.”

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Detroit Grand Prix to again feature 'Free Prix Day'


Free Prix Day is coming back to Belle Isle.
Fans can watch on-track activity free of charge Friday, May 31, as drivers and teams prepare  for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.
The day's schedule includes IZOD IndyCar Series practice and qualifying, plus practice and qualifying for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and the Pirelli World Challenge Series.
Fans also can visit the paddock and garage areas.
Dwele, an R&B singer from Detroit, will give a concert starting at 5:45 p.m.
Free Prix Day will be sponsored by Comerica Bank.

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Robert Mireles defeats Sterling Heights bowler in MMBA championship match

Robert Mireles won the Michigan Majors Bowling Association tournament at Wayne Bowl in Wayne on Sunday when the Lansing resident defeated Rick Gregor of Sterling Heights, three games to two in the championship match. Mireles won $1,500, and Gregor won $700.
Justin Nieman of Warren and Mike Lucente of Warren won $125 apiece.
Gregor was the 12th seed for match play. He defeated Hofmeister and Adam Dee of Birmingham, and then defeated Mike Norris of Melvindale in a semifinal match.
Mireles was the seventh seed.
In the final, Gregor won the first two games, 193-129 and 209-184. But for the third game, Mireles changed balls and took a 248-232 victory. Mireles won the fourth and fifth games, 244-185 and 200-178.

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Slain MIT officer was brother of NASCAR team employee


Sean Collier, the MIT campus police officer who was murdered Thursday night, was the brother of Andrew Collier, an employee of Hendrick Motorsports, a prominent NASCAR racing team.
"It's sad," Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick car, said following qualifying at Kansas Speedway on Friday. "It's been really crazy. It's sad that it has come to this. We are trying to race, but I was up (Thursday night) until 2-something in the morning, just watching the news, seeing how things were going. It's been sad to pay attention to and to watch. Definitely, thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved."
Sean Collier, police said, was shot by Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother, Dzhokhar.

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Detroit Titans sign Patrick Onwenu to basketball letter of intent


Detroit Mercy believes it has found a player who will help compensate for the departures of Doug Anderson and Nick Minnerath.
The Titans have signed 6-foot-8 Patrick Onwenu of Highland Park Community College. Onwenu went to Southfield High.
“He is a very athletic player who can score, rebound, and block shots and comes from a winning program,” Titans coach Ray McCallum said. “He is also local student of the game that is capable of stepping out to the perimeter to make 3s, which is a big asset in this league.”
Onwenu earned NJCAA Division I All-America Honorable Mention for the 2012-13 season after averaging 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.2 blocked shots per game to help the Cougars to the regular season Arrowhead Conference title with a 23-7 overall record and to the Region IV semifinals. He was also named the All-Arrowhead Conference and Region IV Player of the Year along with finishing fourth in the nation in blocked shots. 
“We are losing two of the most athletic players in the Horizon League in Doug Anderson and Nick Minnerath and he definitely brings both an offensive and defensive presence to the floor,” McCallum said.

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Ray McCallum Jr. named Detroit Titans MVP; Bruinsma, Howard Jr. among other team honorees


University of Detroit Mercy 2012-2013 men's basketball post-season awards:

Ray McCallum Jr. won the Robert Calihan Most Valuable Player Award after a standout junior campaign. The point guard led the team in scoring, assists and steals for the third straight season and became just the 11th Titan to surpass 1,600 points in a career. McCallum was named the Horizon League Player of the Year along with earning All-First Team recognition after averaging 18.7 points per game, which ranked 35th nationally. McCallum also earned Lute Olson All-America Team honors and a place on the NABC District 12 First Team. The junior was the first Titan to earn All-American honors since Willie Green in 2003.

Junior Evans Bruinsma won the Dave DeBusschere Most Improved Award. The forward averaged 21.5 minutes per game off the bench while averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Bruinsma started the last six games of the season for the Titans and averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, including 15 points against Wright State in the Horizon League semifinals. 

Bruinsma was also tapped the William Ebben Academic and Athletic Excellence Award winner for the second straight season, while Ugochukwu Njoku earned the Frank R. Gerbig, Sr. Sportsmanship Award honors. Njoku played in every game in his first season with the Titans and finished tied for the team lead with 20 blocked shots.

Sophomore forward Juwan Howard Jr. collected the Norm Swanson Top Newcomer Award. Howard started the first 27 games of the season and averaged 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, before an injury sidelined him for the final two weeks. The Western Michigan transfer finished fifth on the team in scoring and scored a season-high 18 points against then-No. 3 and eventual Final Four finalist Syracuse. Howard also scored the Titans first 11 points against Toledo, before finishing with 16 points and six rebounds.

The Larry Doyle Most Dedicated Titan Award went to senior Nick Minnerath for a second straight year. He returned from a season-ending knee injury to have his best season. The senior forward was named to the All-Horizon League First Team and finished fifth in the league in scoring with 14.6 points while also leading the Titans on the boards with 5.9 rebounds per game. 

The Most Courageous Award went to junior guard Jason Calliste, who led the Titans in 3-point field goals made (73) and free throw shooting percentage (83.4), while finishing second on the team with 44 steals and third in scoring with 14.4 points per game. 

Year-end award winners:

Robert Calihan MVP: Ray McCallum
John R. Kirwan Leading Scorer: Ray McCallum
Dave DeBusschere Most Improved: Evan Bruinsma
Frank R. Gerbig, Sr. Sportsmanship: Ugochukwu Njoku
William Ebben Academic and Athletic Excellence: Evan Bruinsma
Norm Swanson Top Newcomer: Juwan Howard, Jr.
Larry Doyle Most Dedicated Titan: Nick Minnerath
Most Courageous Award: Jason Calliste

Most Assists:  Ray McCallum
Most Deflections: Ray McCallum
Most Charges:  Nick Minnerath
Top Defensive Player:  Nick Minnerath
Highest FG percentage: Doug Anderson
Highest FT Percentage: Jason Calliste

1,000-Point Recognition: Ray McCallum (1,618) and Jason Calliste (1,107)

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Friday, April 12, 2013

Big Ten basketball coaching ranks younger with changes at Northwestern, Minnesota

CHRIS COLLINS
The average age of the Big Ten men's basketball coaches is going down.
Minnesota replaced 61-year-old Tubby Smith with Richard Pitino, who is 30.
Northwestern hired Chris Collins, whose 39th birthday is this
month, to replace Bill Carmody, who was 61 when the Wildcats fired him.

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

NCAA championship-game loss denied Michigan milestones

Michigan had to settle for second place, and a tie.
JOHN BEILEIN
Louisville's 82-76 victory over the Wolverines in the NCAA basketball tournament championship game at Atlanta on Monday not only denied U-M its second national championship; it kept Michigan from setting a school record for victories in a season.
With 31 victories to its credit, the 2012-2013 team tied the 1992-93 squad that also won 31 games.
Michigan was undefeated against non-conference opponents this season, until it ran into Louisville. Michigan finished 18-1 against non-league teams.
The 31 victories also was a career coaching high for the Wolverines' John Beilein.
U-M has won 20-plus games in each of the last three seasons.

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Detroit area not among sites for 2014, 2015 NCAA basketball tournaments

Gas up the car, NCAA basketball tournament fans from southeast Michigan.
Sites for the 2014 and 2015 tournaments have been selected by the NCAA, and The Palace of Auburn Hills is not on the list. Nor is any other Michigan venue.
Regionals for the 2014 tournament will be held at Memphis, Anaheim, Indianapolis and New York.
The 2015 regionals will be at Cleveland, Los Angeles, Houston and Syracuse.
Dayton will continue to host the First Four games in 2014 and 2015.
Second- and third-round sites for 2014: Buffalo, Milwaukee, Orlando, Spokane, Raleigh, San Antonio, San Diego and St. Louis.
In 2015, second- and third-round sites will be Jacksonville, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Portland, Charlotte, Columbus, Omaha and Seattle.
The 2014 Final Four will be at North Texas (Cowboys Stadium), and the 2015 Final Four at Indianapolis.
In 2013, Michigan and Michigan State won second- and third-round games at the Palace to advance to the South and Midwest regionals, respectively.

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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

NCAA champion Louisville moves up on elite basketball list

Louisville's victory over Michigan in the NCAA basketball tournament championship game Monday gave the Cardinals a third national title.
U of L is now among eight schools that have won three or more crowns.
UCLA leads with way with 11 titles. Kentucky has won eight, Indiana and North Carolina five apiece and Connecticut, Duke and Kansas three apiece.
Six schools, including Michigan State, have won two championships.

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Leading scorers underscore a difference between Louisville, Michigan

Guard Russ Smith led Louisville in scoring in all five of the Cardinals' NCAA tournament games, including their semifinal victory over Wichita State.
Tim Hardaway Jr., left, and Trey Burke
Four different players took scoring honors in Michigan's five tournament games through the semifinals.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led Michigan with 13 in the Wolverines' semifinal win over Syracuse.
Prior to reaching the Final Four, Michigan's tournament scoring leaders were Glenn Robinson III and Hardaway with 21 against South Dakota State; Mitch McGary with 21 against Virginia Commonwealth; McGary with 25 against Kansas and Nik Stauskas with 22 against Florida.
Trey Burke, a sophomore guard who has won multiple national player of the year awards, has not led the Wolverines in scoring in a tournament game this year. Burke had 23 against Kansas.
Louisville defeated North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Oregon and Duke before meeting Wichita State in the Final Four. Smith has scored at least 21 points in each game, with a high of 31.

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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Michigan faces another '1' in NCAA final foe Louisville

John Beilein
Michigan has to defeat a second No. 1 seed in order to win its second NCAA basketball tournament championship.
Coach John Beilein's Wolverines play Louisville, the No. 1 seed from the Midwest Region, in the title game Monday night. U-M was the No. 4 seed in the South Region.
En route to the South championship, Michigan defeated top-seeded Kansas and Florida, the No. 3 seed.
Michigan's other tournament victories came against a 13 seed (South Dakota State), an 8 (Virginia Commonwealth) and a 4 (Syracuse in the Final Four).
Louisville's road to the championship game included wins over a 16 seed (North Carolina A&T), an 8 (Colorado State) a 12 (Oregon) and a 2 (Duke). The Cardinals beat a 9 seed (Wichita State) in the Final Four.
Last year, on its way to the championship, Kentucky beat teams seeded 16, 8, 4, 3, 4 and 2. The Wildcats met the highest-seeded of those teams, No. 2 Kansas, in the championship game.

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Michigan takes on Big East again in NCAA championship game

Michigan must sweep a pair of Big East Conference teams to win its second NCAA basketball championship.
The Wolverines play Louisville for the title Monday night.
In March, the Cardinals beat Syracuse for the Big East tournament championship.
U-M beat the Orange in a national semifinal Saturday night.
Michigan beat a Big East team for its only national title.
The Wolverines edged Seton Hall in the 1989 final at Seattle.
The Pirates made the NCAA tournament as an at-large team after Georgetown won the '89 Big East regular-season and conference-tournament titles.

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