Photo by Dayne Francis | Signal Archives
Georgia State has had a fair share of connections to Ball State over the last year and that trend officially continued July 6 with the addition of Ray McCallum as the associate head coach to Georgia State Men’s Basketball.
McCallum joins head coach Ron Hunter’s staff after serving as head coach of the University of Detroit Mercy. He also brings with him 30 years of coaching experience with head coaching stops at Detroit Mercy, Houston and Ball State and also assistant stops at Indiana, Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“The amount of experience and expertise he will bring to our staff is unmatched. I can’t wait for him to get started working with our players as we look to return Georgia State to the NCAA tournament,” said Coach Hunter in a release from the athletic department.
While at Detroit, McCallum had 16 players join the professional ranks including six who played for the NBA’s Summer League since 2012. McCallum guided four teams to the postseason while head coach at his alma mater Ball State (1994-2000) and Houston (2001-2004), including two NCAA appearances with the Cardinals in 1995 and 2000. He left Ball State with a 126-76 record as their head coach.
McCallum’s teams seem to have no problem finding the basket. In the 2010-2011 season, the Titans scored an average of 74.5 points per game and had a field goal percentage of 46.4 percent, according to the Detroit Free Press.
McCallum made a mark of his own as a player on the court. He was the MAC’s Freshman of the Year averaging 16.5 points per game, jumping to 18.5 points per game as a sophomore the same year Ball State earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history. During his junior year, McCallum scored 17.6 points on average and the team earned its first MAC Championship. McCallum, who stands at 5-foot-9, was awarded the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award in 1983 to honor a senior who stands 6-foot tall or shorter.
Following his career at Ball State, McCallum was drafted in the eighth round with the No. 164 pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 1983 draft, but fell victim as a final cut during training camp.
McCallum joins linebackers coach Rick Minter, who was Ball State’s assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator from 1985-1991, and Ball State transfer point guard Jeremiah Davis as part of the #PantherFamily in 2016.
