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Ray McCallum Jr. leads Detroit (and his dad) into NCAAs

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Mike Miller

This is what Ray McCallum Jr. envisioned when he committed to Detroit. What son wouldn’t want to lead his dad’s team to the NCAA tournament?

Well, he did just that.

The former McDonald’s All-American was the driving force behind Detroit’s 70-50 win against Valparaiso Tuesday night in the Horizon League tournament final, giving the school its first spot in the Big Dance since 1999.

Watching it all from the sideline was his dad, Ray Sr., taking it all in. Ray Sr. took Ball State to a pair of NCAA berths in the 2000s, but ever since arriving at Detroit in 2008, this was the goal. His son simply gave it a big push.

Ray Jr. scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished three assists and had four steals and controlled the flow of the game from his point guard position. Detroit (22-13) simply overwhelmed Valpo on its home floor, turning a three-point halftime deficit into a second-half rout. It forced turnovers (19 total) and dunked on Valpo players and looked every bit like a Horizon team capable of winning a game or two in the Big Dance.

Hey, if Butler can do it, why not a father-son combo?

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.