Caleb Houstan discusses senior mentorship, 'pick your poison' dynamic with Hunter Dickinson

Michigan basketball freshman wing Caleb Houstan experienced one of his better games of the season on Tuesday in a win over Maryland. Given that it was one of the team’s most complete efforts of the year, it probably is not a coincidence.

The Wolverines sit at 8-7 on the year with a lot of work still ahead of them. A hard-fought effort at Illinois last Friday was not good enough, but the grit carried into Maryland and was met with good play. That’s the winning formula for a group trying to figure itself out.

Houstan, who scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in Tuesday’s 83-64 win, believes it will need to be more of the same moving forward.

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“Just being more intense on defense and paying attention to the little details,” he told the media on Friday morning “Hands up, communicating on defense. Those were things led by the coaches and players to just play harder on defense and communicate more so you can talk yourself and your teammates into the right spots.”

Michigan has a tough road ahead if it is to be an NCAA Tournament team. Any push to make college basketball’s postseason starts with the lessons learned from the last few games played.

“Continuing with the intensity on defense. It starts there,” Houstan said. “On offense, it will stem from that. We have to make sure we are communicating and being as intense as possible. You’re going to make mistakes, but just trying to limit them to a few so it does not snowball. Just staying intense on defense and playing free on offense and letting the game come to you. I think we’ll be good.”

How Eli Brooks mentors Michigan basketball

Houstan and the youthful Wolverines are led by captain guard Eli Brooks, who returned for a fifth season. Brooks is tasked with a lot as the elder statesman of the program, but he is serving as an extension of the staff on the floor.

“It’s great to have a player like him,” Houstan said. “He’s really skilled and really smart. It helps a lot because he knows everything. He does not make mistakes like that. Having him out on the floor is just like having an extension of the coach. Being able to talk us through it if we’re not sure what’s going on in a certain action. If you get stuck or confused he will help you out and talk you through it.”

Brooks’ mentorship has carried over to games in real-time, especially with so many young players learning lessons each night. The senior guard has helped Houstan and others slow down and process what’s happening in the flow of a game.

“You might have a brain fart or it doesn’t trigger as quickly,” Houstan said. “Obviously, he has been through it multiple times and has been here for a while. Him just saying something, that lets me know. If he doesn’t say anything, who knows what happens? Simple things like that you don’t really see really makes a difference.”

‘Pick your poison’ with Hunter Dickinson

Tuesday night’s win over Maryland was a prime example of how Michigan’s offense can work when firing on all cylinders. Houstan knocked down his shots from the outside and was aggressive throughout the night.

The biggest positive was the play of sophomore center Hunter Dickinson in his return from COVID-19, finishing the night with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. His passing and offensive game were on point, which creates a tougher-to-guard Michigan attack.

“If you are willing to play him straight-up, more times than not he’s going to score,” Houstan said. “He has a great post game and is one of the best scorers in college on the low block. If you’re willing to double team him, you have a lot of other players who are willing to make shots. It’s picking your poison in terms of what teams are going to try and do. If you double-team, he’ll kick it out and we have the opportunity to knock down shots. If you leave him by himself, he’s more than capable of scoring. It’s up to the defense.”

Michigan basketball’s task ahead

Next up for Michigan is a road trip to Indiana. The Hoosiers are much-improved under former NBA head coach Mike Woodson and are the Big Ten’s second-best defense, per KenPom. The Wolverines will put in their scouting report on Friday before traveling to Bloomington on Saturday afternoon.

“I have not really watched much of them,” Houstan said. “We’re going to go over them today. We had a few days off. We’re going to dive into them today and talk about how we can get after them and what we’re going to have to do offensively and defensively.”

Houstan is looking forward to playing another game in a hostile road environment. It is a challenge that the team is embracing as a whole.

“I think it’s cool, to be honest. It’s good,” he said. “Everywhere we have played so far has had good fans. They really support their team. It’s a different environment playing away. It’s cool going in and trying to get a dub on the road. It is a hostile environment and you just have your staff and the team. 20 or so guys go in and you have thousands of people cheering against you. It is a lot of fun to be able to compete in that environment.”

Sunday’s game at Indiana tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally via CBS.