Dan Leach Talks To Titans Coach Ray McCallum Before 'Metro Series' Rivalry [AUDIO]
By Dan Leach
@dtmleach
Exciting? Check. Scoring? Check. Up and down? Check. Love, respect and hatred? Check, check and check. Those are just the right ingredients for a 40-minute battle.
On Saturday, the state of Michigan will be entertained by one of the most fun and growing rivalries in the state, one that is a true honor to call on radio. It is not Michigan-Michigan State or Central Michigan-Western Michigan – yet – but on Saturday in historic Calihan Hall, you can take it to the bank that one of the most exciting games of the NCAA season will be played on Dick Vitale Court.
On one side of the ring, you have Oakland -- the high-scoring Golden Grizzlies squad that leads the Horizon League in scoring at 85 points a game. The same team that won at Washington and the team that took top-ranked Michigan State to overtime before the Spartans pulled out the win.
In the other turnbuckle, you have the Titans averaging 84 points game and dominant at home with a 9-1 record, a team that has scored over 100 points twice, played tough road games at Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt and features an NBA prospect in Paris Bass.
"He's 6-foot-8, he can handle the ball, he can play four different positions, he can guard four different positions, he can make plays for his teammates, he's probably our best guy at stealing the ball and shot blocker," coach Ray McCallum said.
You have a program in Oakland that waited over 10 years to get the call to move to the Horizon League and by some accounts, it was Detroit who was interrupting the dial tone. You have the Titans, the glorious history of NCAA wins, Dick Vitale's name on the court and all-time NBA greats in Dave DeBusschere and Spencer Haywood who have donned the red, white and blue.
When it comes to Saturday and you are looking for your sports, don't just sit back and watch the same old stuff. Historic Calihan Hall is one of the best places to take in the game. It offers that old atmosphere of the 60's and 70's combined with some recent modern improvements. The building seats over 8,000, and there is no bad seat in the house.
"That's the best place in the state to play basketball," McCallum said. "I've been in a lot of venues and it doesn't get any better than Calihan Hall. It's just going to be a great experience for our guys."
If you want to see crazy screaming college kids, coaches who have game planned all week and some dedicated student-athletes, then 3:00 p.m. at Calihan Hall on the campus of the University of Detroit Mercy is where you need to be.
Hear all the action starting at 2:50 p.m. on 971theticket.com.
Tickets start at just $10 and can be purchased at 313-993-1700 or at detroittitans.com/tix.
