<b>DETROIT </b>-- Things have changed for the University of Detroit Mercy's men's basketball team and not just because their main rival is no longer in the league.<br><br>For the first time under coach Ray McCallum, the Titans won the Horizon League and made the NCAA Tournament last year.<br><br>That combined with Butler leaving the league to join the Atlantic 10 Conference puts the Titans in a different position.<br><br>"We've always been the hunter for the previous four years, now just educating the guys on our position that we're going to be the hunted," McCallum said. "As a coach, a person, a competitor, I like the challenge of trying to defend a championship."<br><br>Junior guard Ray McCallum, the coach's son, won the Horizon League Championship MVP award after he scored more than 20 points in each of the three tournament games.<br><br>Although the Titans lost to the heavily favored Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament, the younger McCallum believes that experience can benefit the Titans this season.<br><br>"Last year was big for us, something the school hadn't done in 13 years," McCallum said. "Just to see all the change around here, to see how excited people were, people around the city just really coming out and trying to support us. It made all of us feel proud and feel good because we put in a lot of hard work last year. <br><br>"This year we can take all of our experience from making it to the tournament and hopefully getting back and trying to make a run."<br><br>The Titans lost guard Donavan Foster, Eli Holman, LaMarcus Lowe and Chase Simon, but both McCallums feel they have enough veteran leadership and talented newcomers to make up for those losses.<br><br>"Nick (Minnerath) coming back, Doug Anderson was a starter for us last year and had a great offseason, had a tremendous game in the Kansas game, so his confidence is really high," coach McCallum said. "So he has experience, those two guys have starting experience. <br><br>"Jason Calliste, a junior guard with Ray, they've started, it'll be three years now, made the All-Tournament team, played at a big level so we expect for him to do well. So those four guys have starting experience along with having (Evan) Bruinsma coming off the bench as a role player, Juwan Howard practicing last year, P.J. Boutte being a part of it, so those are the guys we're going to rely on."<br><br>Minnerath, now a senior, returns after missing the majority of last season because of a knee injury. He, McCallum and Calliste have all been named team captains.<br><br>"He can play multiple positions and he can really score," McCallum said. "He's just a really big presence on offense and defense. One thing about Nick, he's a really good leader."<br><br>McCallum has also gone up against some of the younger players in practice and believes they will be able to contribute this season.<br><br>"One guy I know off the bat is Anton Wilson, he can really shoot the three," McCallum said. "He's been pretty productive in exhibition games. Also Gabe Dos Santos, he can come in and pressure the ball, play a combo 1-2 position. So from a freshmen standpoint, those two can help make a major impact on our team at the guard position. <br><br>"Then -- we call them the two Africans, Olumide (Solanke) and (Ugochukwu) Njoku, hopefully we can get them better each and every day as the season goes on, be a presence inside to block shots and get rebounds.<br><br>"Also we have Jermaine Lippert, from Germany, about 6-8, big body guy in the post, also can take his game out to the perimeter a little bit. They'll definitely help us. I'm just excited for them to get the opportunity."<br><br>Most likely, the key will be McCallum, the Horizon League preseason player of the year. He's been in the system, has had success the last two seasons and as the point guard, is responsible for running the team.<br><br>His father has had a front-row seat, watching him grow and develop.<br><br>"He came here, he was about 172 pounds," coach McCallum said. "He's over 190 now. So he's gotten physically stronger, played a lot of minutes as a freshmen and (had) solid development as a sophomore. <br><br>"Now he's an upperclassman. I think all that comes into play, just the experience, just knowing the league, knowing the game at this level."<br><br>McCallum said while it's an honor to be named preseason player of the year, his main focus is team success.<br><br>"I have to lead my team," McCallum Jr. said. "I feel like I've been here for a long time now and can use everything and all the experience that I've been through and just become a good leader on the court, be vocal, and to show with my actions as well. My dad tells me I have to be the best player on the floor every night and just do whatever is best for my team to win, do all the little things, defense, rebound. That's the bottom line."<br><br>One thing that's really helped McCallum get better is the influence of some of the former legendary players. Guys like Earl Cureton, Rashad Phillips and Willie Green have all been presences at Calihan Hall. Green even played with the young Titans this past summer.<br><br>"They just told us, our whole team and me individually, what they did with their teams and how they were successful," McCallum said. "I soak it all in and just try to take it back to my team and just do what they did and hopefully it can help us be successful as well."<br><br>While Valparaiso might be the favorite to win the Horizon League, the Titans plan to have something to say about it.<br><br>It's safe to say that the Titans have come a long way in McCallum's tenure, now entering its fifth year.<br><br>"If you look at where we started from, I don't like to remember that but we were 7-23, we won two games in the Horizon League, I believe, and on the bottom," coach McCallum said. "The rise that we have had, especially when you have, I think we had five teams in the postseason last year and we've had multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament. We've had to climb over some outstanding programs that have done well.<br><br>"We had four seniors last year, all graduated, got a championship ring and gone on. We feel great. I think we had the second best graduation rate in the state. So when your kids are graduating and winning championships, it's been everything you'd hoped for."<br><br><br><br>
