Two veteran basketball coaches with strong ties to the State of Michigan, Carlos Briggs - a holdover from last year's UDM staff - and Jay Smith, are the first two assistants hired by new Detroit Titans head coach Ray McCallum.

Briggs has one year under his belt at UDM and remained an active member of the basketball staff following McCallum's hiring in mid-April through today's announcement. Smith is a former head coach at both Grand Valley State and Central Michigan, and also served as an assistant at Kent State and Michigan during his career.

 

"I think these are two great coaches to have on our staff," McCallum said. "I've had a longstanding relationship in basketball with both of them. I know they'll do a great job with us."

Briggs, a Detroit native, served as the head coach at Schoolcraft College in nearby Livonia from 1997-2006. During his nine years at the helm, he molded the Ocelots into one of the best junior college programs in the country, compiling a 249-39 career record. In 2000-01, he led Schoolcraft to a 36-1 mark, including a 35-game winning streak, and its first-ever appearance in the NJCAA Division I Final Four.

 

Briggs was named the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Coach of the Year in 2002. He was also a three-time Conference, District and Regional Coach of the Year as well as a five-time State Coach of the Year.

 

Not only did he receive numerous coaching accolades, but his players were often honored as well. He coached seven All-Americans at Schoolcraft along with 27 All-Region players, 14 All-State players and 23 All-Conference selections. Briggs produced a total of 45 Division I signees, including former UDM basketball players Torvoris Baker and Rulon Harris.

 

"Being a Detroiter and having played in the city in high school and junior college, Carlos knows Detroit basketball," McCallum noted. "He's had an outstanding career as a coach. He won (junior college) championships and took his team to national tournaments. He's an outstanding person who has contributed to the development of young people, and I think that's important.

 

"I followed his career as a player and I've known him for a long time. I recruited and signed his (Schoolcraft) players. I felt like I got to know Carlos better through his players."

Smith coached Central Michigan for nine years, and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after leading CMU to the regular season title in both 2001 and 2003. His 2003 squad won a school-record 25 games en route to the MAC Tournament championship. CMU went on to win its 2003 first-round NCAA Tournament game over 15th-ranked Creighton.

CMU was 95-160 in nine seasons under Smith. The 95 victories rank fourth in Chippewas history while the nine seasons rank as the school's fourth-longest coaching tenure.

 

Smith recruited and coached two MAC Players of the Year in David Webber (2001) and Chris Kaman (2003). Kaman left Central after his junior season and was the sixth overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Smith's CMU players earned two first-team All-MAC honors, one second-team award, eight honorable mention selections and five MAC All-Freshman Team picks.

 

Smith also was head coach at Grand Valley State for one season - compiling a 23-6 record and guiding the Lakers to a GLIAC Championship in 1997 - and served on the staff at Kent State from 1984-89, and at Michigan from 1989 to '96. Smith still holds the state record for career scoring after notching 2,841 points at Mio Au Sable High School (1976-79). He has been working in the private business sector since leaving Central Michigan in 2006.

 

"I've known Jay since our college days," McCallum recalled. "I tried to recruit him to Ball State when I was there. Our relationship has continued for many years. We were on the staff together for a short time at Michigan, and we were competing coaches in the Mid-American Conference. He'll bring state-wide recognition with him to our school.

 

"He's produced MAC Champions and he's developed pro prospects. That's going to make him a great addition to our first staff. He's going to work with our big guys. He developed Kaman into a (NBA Draft) lottery pick. He worked with (Chris) Webber and all those post guys at Michigan who went on to the NBA. So you know he's going to work with our big guys, too."

 

Detroit is McCallum's third stop as a college head coach, on top of seven years at his alma mater, Ball State, and four more at Houston. Most recently, he served as assistant head coach at Indiana before assuming the Titans' helm on April 11.

 

-Detroit Titans-