Ray McCallum has decided to enter the draft

[valpopal]

Junior is only a junior. He'll be, hands down, the face of the HL next year as much as I hate to say it.  That will be big for HL exposure.  And they lose "only" Minerath and Anderson with 6th man Bruinsma moving into a starting role.  They need to find that 5th starter.  Any word on the recruiting class? 

Various reports today state that Ray Jr. has decided to enter the NBA draft. Of course, he has plenty of time to change his mind. Also, in addition to losing Minerath and Anderson, word is that at least two other Detroit players, including Jason Calliste, may be leaving.

[zvillehaze]

Various reports today state that Ray Jr. has decided to enter the NBA draft. Of course, he has plenty of time to change his mind.

Plenty of time?  The deadline is tomorrow, April 28th.

[classof2014]

I hope he declares for the draft... I would hate to have him as the face of the HL next season... I honestly don't think he's that great, he as able to beat up on poor teams but a good defender was able to shut him down on many occasions. I think Minnerath will be in the nba and make a name for himself, he has the size and can shoot. Junior is just an above average player and IMO he hasn't lived up to the hype as the godsend to UDM he was supposed to be. If UDM didn't have Minnerath they would have been around the same level as GB or YSU.

Like I said, I hope he goes. I hated watching him play and I think Kendrick Perry will be the best player in the HL by far next season, even if Junior is back. He showed up to play every game unlike Junior and nobody could really slow him down.

I think Junior is a classless player, on a classless team, and with a classless coach. I would HATE if he was the face of the HL next year. 

[vufan75]

The website www.nbadraft.net is reporting that McCallum is entering the draft. Think he is projected as mid to late 2nd round pick. He has til sometime in June to withdraw from the draft.                                                                                                                                             

Detroit Free Press newspaper also reporting same news. http://www.freep.com/article/20130427/SPORTS/304270092

[VU75]

Gotta wonder if this foreshadows the departure of McCallum Sr. 

[zvillehaze]

He has til sometime in June to withdraw from the draft.                                                                                                                                             

The deadline for withdrawing and returning to the NCAA was April 16th.  If he puts his name in, he's gone.

[valpotx]

Awesome, no more Ray Jr POS!  There have been so many talented people declaring for the draft, that I don't see him getting drafted...

[historyman]

There is no more "testing the waters" of the NBA draft.


http://www.amateursports365.com/NCAA/NCAA-NBA-DraftDeclarationDeadline.html

Last year, the NCAA membership made a decision to gut what remained of the rule allowing basketball underclassmen the opportunity to "test the NBA waters."

In short, the NCAA's board of directors voted to affirm the rule which will require underclassmen who wish to return to school to pull their name out of the NBA draft by April 10, which is conveniently right before the spring signing date.


If Ray McCallum Jr. declared for the NBA draft then he is done playing college basketball for the University of Detroit-Mercy men's basketball team.

[wh]

He's gone.

http://www.detroittitans.com/news/2013/4/27/MBB_0427135500.aspx

[valpospartan]

See ya, wouldn't want to be ya!

[StlVUFan]

Obviously if tomorrow's the deadline, then he is indeed gone.

I can't say I'm pleased, actually.  I want the competition to be at their best.  I want as strong a conference as possible.  If Detroit disintegrates, that just makes any future VU championships a little less impressive.

That said, if he's gone, he's gone.  It doesn't change the objective.

[vufan75]

The website www.nbadraft.net is reporting that McCallum is entering the draft. Think he is projected as mid to late 2nd round pick. He has til sometime in June to withdraw from the draft.                                                                                                                                             

Detroit Free Press newspaper also reporting same news. http://www.freep.com/article/20130427/SPORTS/304270092

I was definitely wrong about a June early entry withdrawal date. Living in the past I guess. 
Found additional info on the subject, and apparently a key point is signing with an agent or not. A bit confusing if nothing else. 

http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/college_basketball_winners_and_losers_for_the_draft_early_entry_deadline/13419694

College Basketball Winners and Losers for the Draft Early Entry Deadline

The NCAA's draft deadline has passed, but the NBA deadline still has teams in limbo

By: David Fox | 4/17/13, 8:00 AM EDT
The NCAA's draft deadline has passed, but the NBA deadline still has teams in limbo

The NCAA's early entry draft deadline, moved up to April 16, functioned more like a suggestion rather than any sort of rule this season.

A handful of underclassmen announced their intentions on the NBA Draft before the NCAA's April 16 deadline, but the real point of no return for many is the NBA's deadline of April 28. The NCAA mark says an underclassman who has not signed with an agent must remove his name from consideration before April 16 if they want to return to school.

The April 28 date is established by the NBA, meaning an undecided underclassman in reality has an extra 12 days to make the call provided he doesn't sign with an agent.The rule was put into place to protect coaches who, in theory, wouldn't have to save a scholarship for several weeks while a star player mulled the NBA Draft.

In practice, many coaches are doing just that. Here's our look at the winners and losers for the NBA Draft deadline and everyone in between as the clock ticks down to April 28.

[zvillehaze]

I was definitely wrong about a June early entry withdrawal date. Living in the past I guess.  Found additional info on the subject, and apparently a key point is signing with an agent or not. A bit confusing if nothing else. 

Definitely confusing, primarily because the NCAA and NBA each have their own deadlines.  In general, here are the key points.

NCAA:
1.  Once a player signs with an agent, they lose any remaining eligibility.
2.  If a player has submitted their name for early entry into the NBA draft, they have until the day before the late signing period starts (April 16th this year) to remove their name and retain NCAA eligibility (assuming they haven't signed with any agent).  So basically, guys like McCallum who are entering their name after April 16th have no chance to return.

NBA:
1.  Deadline for early entrants to submit for the draft is April 28th.
2.  The NBA also has a deadline in June for removing names, but this deadline is irrelevant to any player hoping to return to college.  It could apply to European players who enter the draft, then decide in June to wait a year or two.

So as many people have pointed out, the "real deadline" for underclassmen to enter the draft is the NBA's April 28 deadline.  That's why so many kids have made a decision in the last few days.

FWIW, I think Ray made a good decision to enter this year's draft.  It is going to be much weaker than next year's ... especially because lots of good underclassmen decided to return.  He is still a likely 2nd round pick, but I don't think another year with a weaker UDM team would have helped him improve his position.  Just my  .

[walldozer]

http://www.freep.com/article/20130427/SPORTS08/304270092/1051/sports03

[agibson]

Wow.  I'm certainly no NBA draft hound.  But, I'd guess there's a fair shot he goes undrafted.  He still loses his eligibility then, right?  So, it'd be on to Europe etc.

[classof2014]

Wow.  I'm certainly no NBA draft hound.  But, I'd guess there's a fair shot he goes undrafted.  He still loses his eligibility then, right?  So, it'd be on to Europe etc.

Agreed. I think he's an idiot for going into the draft this year. When I saw him play nothing said to me that he was ready for the NBA. I don't believe he was the best player in the HL this year either. I think Minnerath has more of a shot to do something in the NBA. I think this might be the last we hear of McCallum.

He was a good player, but not THAT good.

[vufan75]

You know you've struck a nerve with some folks when they go "on the attack" on a basketball message board. Ran across this when perusing Detroit's board and their fans reaction to "Ray's Decision". And the Commissioner said yesterday....

by Commissioner » Sun Apr 28, 2013 12:00 pm

Meanwhile, over at Hillbilly forum (aka the Valpo Fan Zone) they've got several guys jabbering away with cheap personal shots at Ray. I found this the most interesting:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I hope he goes. I hated watching him play and I think Kendrick Perry will be the best player in the HL by far next season, even if Junior is back. He showed up to play every game unlike Junior and nobody could really slow him down.

I think Junior is a classless player, on a classless team, and with a classless coach. I would HATE if he was the face of the HL next year.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yeah, who wants as the face of your league a kid who's an Honor Roll student, who doesn't have so much as a parking ticket marring his record, who chose your mid-major conference over offers in every BCS league, American born and raised, who never lips off in the press, and plays at an all-American level? You'd have to be an idiot to want that.

Oh, and Kendrick Perry? Love him. Great player. I agree he is the Horizon pre-season POY for 2013-14. Of course, there was that 9 point, 3 of 9 shooting, 4 turnover performance against Detroit this year - but he was still fast, I guess, so in that sense, no one really slowed him down.

What a bunch of pompous hayseeds (still love that description from fan at the YSU board) and graceless losers.

Maybe the commish ought to check out the game tape from the HL Finals held at Valpo in March 2012, to see what sort of sportsmanship that his guy exhibited.  Or maybe look at the stats of the Valpo-Detroit games this year. Not that overwhelming from how I see it. Too bad Detroit had to go and lose in the tournament semi's this past season. Darn the luck. And I'ze resent dem "hillbilly" and "hayseed" comments, darn it, I'm from the cosmopolitan metro Chicago area. Sorry, gotta go shuck some corn now and feed the chickens....  

[chef]

Most projections have McCallum going mid to late 2nd round. This is a very strong year for point guards. Thus it's likely he would go higher if he'd stay for his senior year, but the folks I talked to at Detroit said he really couldn't wait to get out of there.

[a3uge]

He's not going to get drafted. Some sites like CBS and Nbadraft.net agree with me.

[valpotx]

Yes, I love to hear the Hillbilly comments from Detroit as well.  We should call them, 'the dumb ones who stayed in Detroit while the city has been crumbling around them.'  It doesn't roll off of the tongue, but is very apropo .  We can also compare financial information if they really want to get into a debate of what a Valpo education will get you . 

Fact is, Ray Jr is extremely classless ON the basketball court.  He may do nice things off the court, but on it, he is a complete POS.  Any school in the conference would back this information up as well. 

[valpotx]

I agree, he is not going to be drafted.  Compare him to a guy like Isaiah Canaan, and you can see that they are worlds apart.  Ray is NOT one of the best 60 players to enter the draft this year, and wouldn't be next year either.  Maybe he goes the NBDL route to get a shot at the NBA, but I just can't see him as having enough quality to be drafted.

[chef]

NBAdraft.net has not updated their mock since McCallum announced he was coming out. They actually do have him as the 52nd best prospect. Chad Ford on ESPN has McCallum ranked at 38. There's a pretty good chance he's going to get drafted despite what we all think of him.

[vu72]

He is a big strong guard with an NBA body.  He is extremely quick as well.  Yes, we don't like him but he was/is good and I do expect him to be drafted in the mid-second round.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

[valpotx]

He is the 57th best prospect according to this article: http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/28/detroit-point-guard-ray-mccallum-entering-the-nba-draft/

Regardless of what some of these experts say, I still don't see it.  It has absolutely nothing to do with my dislike of Ray, but everything to do with any games I have seen him play.  He just doesn't stand out as an NBA-caliber guy.  I have seen many people over the years that were ranked in the 30s-40s as far as NBA prospect lists, that did not get drafted.  I see Ray as being one of these people.  I will be extremely ticked off if my Mavs were to take him in any round, again, not based on my strong dislike, but on what I have seen from several games.