University of Houston Athletics
Chat With Ray McCallum
1/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Chat
Welcome to the UHCougars.com moderated chat room. On Friday, January 17, UH men's basketball head coach Ray McCallum will drop by to chat about the 2002-03 season. McCallum is in his third season as head coach at the University of Houston after serving seven years as head coach at his alma mater, Ball State University. McCallum has a 155-120 career mark and led Houston to its best season in nine years in 2001-02. The Cougars finished with an 18-15 overall record and their 9-7 Conference USA mark was the second-best record in C-USA's National Division. Houston also advanced to the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament for the first time in school history and earned a NIT berth. The 18 wins and NIT berth were the most wins and first postseason tournament for the Cougars since the 1992-93 season. These achievements are more significant when considering that Houston accomplished them with just eight scholarship players on its roster. Named Houston's head coach on April 20, 2000, McCallum served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball's National Young Men's (20 and under) team in 2000. That team competed in the 2000 Confederation of Pan American Basketball Association's (COAPABA) World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Brazil and earned one of three Americas Zone berths for the 2002 FIBA World Championships. McCallum came to Houston after serving as head coach at his alma mater, Ball State University, from 1993-00. His teams at Ball State averaged 18 wins per year and his .624 career winning percentage is the fourth-best overall winning percentage in the 53-year history of the MAC. He also guided the Cardinals to three postseason tournaments. He served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin for 10 seasons and helped lead the Badgers to NIT appearances in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Those games were the first postseason tournament appearances for Wisconsin since 1946-47. As a player, McCallum was a three-time All-MAC and All-MAC Tournament selection. He also was named the 1980 MAC Freshman-of-the-Year, 1983 MAC Player-of-the-Year, 1983 MAC Tournament MVP, and won the 1983 Naismith Award, which is given to the nation's outstanding collegiate senior under six-feet tall. Coach McCallum won't be stopping by until 11:30 a.m. CT on Friday, but you can submit your questions now and we'll save them for his arrival. | ||
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| Moderator: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Coach McCallum is here to answer your questions. | ||
| les: since we are being pressed by all the teams we play. why have we not made adjustments bringing the ball down court? we have 35 seconds to shoot the ball, which is plenty of time. good luck with the rest of the season. | ||
| Ray McCallum: We have made adjustments. We have five different press attacks and we try to implement them in each game. One thing to look for is different people taking the ball out to try and attack the press efficiently. My philosophy is to attack pressure to score. Our players are coached and taught to catch the ball above the free throw line extended above the pressure areas and to make the next pass to the open areas which are up the sideline, diagonal passes or over the top. We also have some set plays where we try to go long or to shoot the guard in the middle of the floor and attack with a fast break. | ||
| Jerry Houston: Hi coach. Please clarify Cedric Fears' status with the program. Is he still with the team? If not, is it temporary or permanent? Thanks and hang in there. | ||
| Ray McCallum: He is suspended indefinitely and it remains to be seen if he will be part of the program in the future. | ||
| Brett Pancamo (Houston, TX): Coach, I'm optimistic about our guard play next season ('03-04), particularly at point guard. However, in losing Truscott, I'm worried that we'll suffer in the post against the increasingly difficult C-USA competition. What are your thoughts? | ||
| Ray McCallum: Obviously, Louis is the most valuable player on our team. He is having an outstanding year leading our team in scoring and ranks third nationally in rebounding. We signed Darrius Brannon who I think is similar to Louis in his athletic ability. We also added more height with the signing of Elijah Miller. | ||
| Michael/Dallas: After last years success many of us had high hopes for this year. What has been the biggest hurdle this year and what kind of talent might we have next year to get back to last years success and more. | ||
| Ray McCallum: Lack of experience has been the biggest hurdle this year. We are the youngest team with comparison to every team we have played in the non-conference and in Conference USA. Last year, we had very experienced players who had developed an understanding of Houston basketball which is play hard, play tough and play together. | ||
| Michael (Houston): Coach Ray, I know the loss of Gaines,Oliver and Williams hurt our experience and depth. Do you feel this years team is growing as a unit and besides Truscott and Owens, who do you see stepping it up as a player? We are keeping the faith. Go Coogs! | ||
| Ray McCallum: We looked at the start of the C-USA schedule as a new season. We are challenging the players to take the experience in the non-conference games and applying it in our C-USA games. I think you are seeing it with Jeremee McGuire getting 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. We had a two-point game against UAB for 30 minutes and then was plagued by what has been the problem all year-a five-minute scoring drought. You can't have those in this league if you are going to be successful. We need Bryan Shelton to shoot the ball and Cedrick Hensley to use his athletic ability on both ends of the floor. We also need Dwight Jones to be effective with his speed and quickness. | ||
| Austin (Killeen): Coach, What, in your opinion, is needed to propel Cougar basketball forward and become a formidible force, once again? | ||
| Ray McCallum: We have to continue increasing the talent level and then develop the depth we haven't been able to experience for a total program. | ||
| Chuck(Houston): Hi Coach Out of the five newcomers for next year who do you think is most ready for CUSA basketball now? Keep up the good work! | ||
| Ray McCallum: This year we have really struggled at the point guard positition. Lanny Smith is having a tremendous year along with the other recruits we signed. He has the ablility to make his teammates better with his ability to see the floor and penetrate. That is something we are lacking. Parker Pinkalla is having a terrific year shooting the ball from the perimeter. At one point this season, he was 66-99 from the three-point line. At 6-7, Andrew Francis gives us a bigger three. He is playing the four spot for his high school, but we have him projected as a big guard who can defend, rebound and create off the dribble. Elijah Miller gives us a taller player. We feel he will get bigger and develop into a low post presence in time. He is one of only two guys his height in the area who has skilled. This class will be a top 30 class nationally. It's a great start for what we want to do and where we want to take the program. It's part of the foundation being laid. After a couple of more recruiting classes, we will be ready to make our move up the C-USA standings. | ||
| David (Houston): What is the status of Marcus Oliver's injury? If he cannot return this year, does he retain his final year of eligibility? | ||
| Ray McCallum: His injury is at seven months post-op right now and an ACL injury usually takes a full year for compete recovery. He is home recovering and will have another year of eligibility. We expect him back next season. | ||
| David (Houston): Where is Cedric Fears? I was looking forward to watching him play this year but have not seen him in action. | ||
| Ray McCallum: As we stated earlier, he is suspended indefinitely and his status is to be determined. | ||
| MIKE GARZA: IF WE CAN BE AGGRESSIVE ENOUGH TO OUTREBOUND UAB BY 15 WHY CAN"T WE BE MORE AGGRESSIVE ON OFFENSE AND DRIVE THE LANE MORE 25 3 PT SHOTS SEEMS A BIT MUCH THANKS | ||
| Ray McCallum: That has been a problem with this year's team to attack the basket aggressively. We like to attack the basket with the pass or penetration. Last year, we ranked second in C-USA in free throw attempts because of our ability to attack the basket. When you are young and lack experience, you often look to take that easy shot. We are working in practice to try and get our team to attack the basket more aggressively. | ||
| Houston: I realize other teams are pressing full court....but why can't the guys get the ball down court to get plays started quicker? | ||
| Ray McCallum: The changing defenses has really disrupted this team's execution. | ||
| Houston: Why have we bot been more successful in recruting big men during your tenure and do we have good prospects for the 2004 class? What is the status of Marcus Briggs? | ||
| Ray McCallum: We signed one of the top 30 recruiting classes in the country this year with Houston area kids. When I took over as head coach I said that "I wanted to make recruiting Houston area players a priority." That is what you are seeing in this class. | ||
| Scott (H-Town): Coach, I'm sorry the season has progessed like it has. I know the unexpected loss of KEY players has been the cause effect. 1. Did you expect this type of fall-off from last year might happen. | ||
| Scott (H-Town): Coach, I'm sorry the season has progessed like it has. I know the unexpected loss of KEY players has been the cause effect. 1. Did you expect this type of fall-off from last year might happen. | ||
| Ray McCallum: As coaches, you always prepare for ways to win games. What we are facing is one returning starter and first and second-year guys making the transition to playing key roles. That has led to this season's record. | ||
| John: Coach, who's the toughest opponent in C-USA? | ||
| Ray McCallum: I feel like we have four or five teams who will be in position for the NCAA Tournament. Based on what I have seen, Cincinnati has one of the best half-court defenses in the country. Louisville is one of the top scoring and pressing teams in the nation. Both would give us a lot of problems. | ||
| Marshall: Coach, there are a lot of great coaches in C-USA, are you honored to be a head coach in this league? | ||
| Ray McCallum: Yes, that's one of the things we make sure our recruits and their families understand. You talk about programs that have won national championships, been to final fours and a league that recently produced a number-one NBA Draft pick. | ||
| Hank: What's the #1 key to breaking out of this slump? | ||
| Ray McCallum: Reducing our turnovers and keep our emphasis on defensive effort and intensity. We also need to find a rhythm offensively and make shots. | ||
| Stephen /Seguin: Coach, Cedric Hensley was much more aggressive in high school. Do you think he wiil be more of a offensive threat this year. | ||
| Ray McCallum: We would like for him to be and we are working with him constantly to attack the basket and use his great athletic ability. We also would like for him to be a defensive stopper and aggressive offensive player. | ||
| Eric: How do you feel about how our freshman and how they have adapted to college Basketball | ||
| Ray McCallum: They are adjusting to the aggressive style of play and playing against guys who are bigger, stronger and quicker than them. They also are learning the knowledge and understanding to play our system. They are willing to learn and coachable. I look for them to make great strides through the conference schedule and into next year. | ||
| Jesse J (Houston): Hi, Coach. Do you have any more college transfers in the pipeline that will help our team? Go Coogs. JMJ | ||
| Ray McCallum: Andy Ikeakor, a 6-8, 260-pound forward from Westbury Christian is transferring back here from Tennessee. He will be eligible after the first semester of 2003-04. | ||
| Morris williams/league City, Tx: What the story with Fears? Is he part of the basketball team or not? If not can his schlorship be used for next year? | ||
| Ray McCallum: As we stated earlier, he is suspended. We can not use his scholarship because you can only sign five players per year and we signed the five players in the early signing period. | ||
| Moderator: Thanks everyone for joining us and GO Coogs'. | ||
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