Caleb Houstan expresses excitement to return to Orlando area following NBA Draft selection

Caleb Houstan has returned to Orlando after a one year collegiate hiatus to Michigan before the Magic drafted him in the early second round of last month’s 2022 NBA Draft.

A five-star recruit out of basketball power prep school Montverde Academy – which is located less than half an hour away from downtown Orlando – Houstan is already feeling comfortable in his new NBA home.

“Yeah, definitely it’s just a good feeling to be back in the Orlando area, obviously real familiar with it being at Montverde for so long,” Houstan said in his introductory press conference. “Just being there really helped me a lot, just playing against the physicality athleticism of guys who are in the NBA now, and going up against them every day. I think that was the best thing for me.

“I think you learn a lot. You see what works and what doesn’t work. So yeah, it definitely helped me a lot more than I could explain.”

Montverde Academy has served as a feeding ground, pumping out multiple future NBA talents each calendar year. During Houstan’s time with the prep school, he played alongside the likes of 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Moses Moody and Precious Achiuwa, among others – all of which became first round NBA Draft choices over the last two seasons.

Houstan’s one-and-done run with the Wolverines was supposed to see him accomplish a similar feat after head coach Juwan Howard put together a recruiting class No. 8 national recruiting class for last season, according to the On3 Consensus.

Alongside fellow five-star recruit Moussa Diabate, the Wolverines were poised to have a breakout year and were even ranked in the top-five in last year’s preseason rankings.

Michigan would eventually compile a 1largely disappointing 19-15 record. Still, they managed to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament, where Houstan and the Wolverines showed what should have been during an improbable run to the Sweet Sixteen before eventually losing to Villanova.

Houstan averaged 10.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game during his time in Ann Arbor. He shot 38.4% from the field and 35.5% from three-point range – mostly due to a high volume of shooting compared to the most of his team – but won’t feel the pressure of automatically needing to produce with the Magic, which could see his shooting percentages and subsequent box scores healthily grow at the next level.