Ray McCallum ShootAround Show

A big week in men's basketball action is ahead for Detroit as the Titans take on Valparaiso and Butler in two televised home games this weekend. At 10-5 overall, and 3-1 in the Horizon League, UDM is off to one of its best starts in league play in a few years. 

After Wednesday's practice, senior Woody Payne and junior Curtis Eatmon talked about the Titans' preparation for this week. 

Head coach Ray McCallum also talked about Valparaiso and the Titans in the sixth installment of the Ray McCallum ShootAround Show on the Titan YouTube channel. 

Senior guard Woody Payne 

On the big win at Loyola: 

It was a real big win for us because it showed we can bounce back from adversity. Every time we have lost, we have always come back and played hard. We played terrible at UIC, but we were able to refocus which is a good thing about this team. 

On the big week of action coming up: 

Well it's conference season so everyone has to focus in a bit more. Everyone knows everyone now so we need to take it one game at a time. We have two good teams coming here and everyone wants to talk about Butler, but we need to stay focused on Valparaiso. The coaches have done a great job getting us ready for Valpo. We can't just skip over any games. That is what happened with Tennessee State and we lost thinking ahead so right now we are ready to play Valpo. 

On the Crusaders: 

They can really score. They have the leading scorer in the league in Brandon Wood, averaging 20 a night, and Cory Johnson and Brandon McPherson are two more guys in double figures so we need to step up on defense and slow them down.

Junior guard Curtis Eatmon 

On his return to the court on Dec. 28 against Shawnee State after missing 12 games due to injury: 

It was a blessing to come back. I want to thank everyone for their support and all the cards that they sent me. Right now, I am just trying to get myself back into a rhythm and help the team out as much as I can. 

On the crowd's ovation when he got in the game for the first time: 

I heard it. It was such a humbling feeling to hear the crowd get to their feet and cheer. I just thank everyone and appreciate their support and I am going to work real hard getting back here. 

On the Titans' key to success 

We need to come out and compete hard as a team. Defense is something that we emphasize in practice. We feel that we can score and we are a good offensive team so if we can keep up the defensive pressure, we are going to win a lot of games.