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.”

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.

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)

Sophomore guard Ray McCallum was named to the 2011-2012 National All-Jesuit Men’s Basketball Team, as announced by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight.  McCallum is one of 10 honorees among 28 Jesuit schools nationwide across all levels (NCAA I, II, III and NAIA).

McCallum, the Horizon League Tournament Most Valuable Player, helped lead the Titans to the league crown and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999.  The former Detroit Country Day player led the squad in scoring (15.4 ppg), assists (4.0 apg) and steals (1.6 spg) for the second straight season.  He was an All-Horizon League First Team selection in addition to a National Basketball Coaches Association All-District First Team choice, Bob Cousy Award Top 20 selection and Lou Henson All-America Team member after a superb season that saw him become the 37th Titan to surpass 1,000 career points and the first to do it as a sophomore.  

He's joined on the All-Jesuit Team by Consensus First-Team All-American Doug McDermott of Creighton.  McDermott, a Wooden Award finalist and the Missouri Valley Player of the Year, and Marquette's Darius  Johnson-Odom, a first-team All-Big East selection, earn All-Jesuit honors for the second straight year.

Fellow MU teammate Jae Crowder, the Big East Player of the Year made the squad while two other players-- Xavier's Tu Holloway and Gonzaga's Elias Harris, have previously earned All-Jesuit honors.  They are joined on the All-Jesuit team by Steve Catich, who led Wheeling Jesuit to the NCAA Division II Tournament; Jason Clark, Georgetown’s leader as it remained among the top teams in DI; Rakim Sanders who led Fairfield to the CIT Postseason Tourney semifinals and Corey Shontz, an NCAA Division III All-America honoree from John Carroll. All 10 players earned first-team all-conference honors.

Possible, but unlikely.
That's how one could sum up the Detroit Titans' chances of upsetting Kansas on Friday in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Kansas is the No. 2 seed and Detroit Mercy is seeded 15th in the Midwest Region.
A 15 seed has not beaten a 2 since Hampton struck down Iowa State, 58-57, in the 2001 tournament.

Ray McCallum Jr. could have played anywhere in America.
Kansas, UCLA and every other big-time college basketball program wanted the former Detroit Country Day star, but McCallum chose to stay home and play for his dad at Detroit.
Now player McCallum and coach Ray McCallum Sr. are going dancing, NCAA tournament style.
The Titans beat top-seeded Valparaiso at Valpo on Tuesday night to win the Horizon League tournament championship and the automatic NCAA berth that goes with the title.
McCallum Jr., a sophomore guard, had 21 points to lead the Titans to the 70-50 victory over Valparaiso  and Detroit's first NCAA bid since 1999.
The Titans are 22-13. They'll learn Sunday their first-round NCAA opponent.

The Detroit Titans play Valparaiso on Tuesday night in the championship game of the Horizon League basketball tournament. The winner receives a bid to the NCAA tournament.It won't be easy for coach Ray McCallum's club. Valpo (22-10) was the regular-season champion in the Horizon and, as the higher-seeded team for the final, will play on its home court against the Titans (21-13).
Meanwhile, Oakland fell late Sunday night to Southern Utah in the Summit League tournament at Sioux Falls, S.D. The 84-82 defeat ended the Golden Grizzlies' dream of reaching the NCAA tournament. Oakland's record fell to 17-15.

Detroit plays Youngstown State and Butler takes on Milwaukee on Friday in quarterfinal games in the Horizon League basketball tournament at Valparaiso.
Waiting in the wings are regular-season champion Valparaiso and runner-up Cleveland State.
Valpo plays the Butler-Milwaukee winner, while CSU meets the Detroit-Youngstown survivor in semifinal games.

The Horizon League starts its post-season basketball tournament Tuesday with four games, including Loyola's visit to Calihan Hall to play the Detroit Titans. Tip is at 7 p.m.
Detroit finished the regular season in a three-way tie for third place, but earned the better seed, and third overall, because it went 3-1 in games against Milwaukee and Butler during the regular season.
Fourth-seeded Milwaukee plays Illinois-Chicago and fifth-seeded Butler meets Wright State in other first-round games Tuesday.
Green Bay is at Youngstown State in the other first-round contest, also Tuesday.
First-round winners advance to quarterfinal games at Valparaiso on Friday.
Valparaiso is the No. 1 seed.

It's here, college basketball fans.
Conference tournament season, the precursor to NCAA tournament March Madness, is upon us.
Six of the 30 Division 1 tournaments begin this week.
The Big South Conference gets the tournament ball rolling Monday.
UNC Asheville was the top team in the Big South during the regular season.
On Tuesday, the Horizon League, which includes the Detroit Titans, regular-season champion Valparaiso plus recent NCAA tournament darling Butler, gets its tournament started.
On Wednesday, the Atlantic Sun, Ohio Valley, Patriot and West Coast join the tournament mix.

Ray McCallum of Detroit and Trey Burke of Michigan are among the 20 finalists for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year award.
The honor, named for former Boston Celtics star Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guard in college basketball.
The list of finalists will be trimmed to 10 in early February, and then to five by early March. The winner will be announced April 2 at New Orleans as part of the Final Four weekend.
McCallum (pictured) is a sophomore. He averages 14.6 points and 3.6 assists per game.
Burke is a freshman. He averages 14 points and five assists.