Caleb Houstan discusses rediscovery of shooting stroke vs. Maryland
Freshman wing Caleb Houstan gave Michigan basketball a look into what he is at his best in Tuesday’s win over Maryland. The former five-star recruit struggled throughout the year to find his shot.
It appeared with a vengeance in the victory.
Houstan finished the night with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. Three of his makes were beyond the three-point line. The boost he got from seeing shots go through was apparent on both ends of the floor.
Tuesday night’s game also included him driving to the basket and looking as good as he has this year.
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“I’m just trying to stay aggressive,” Houstan said after the game. “The past couple of games my shots weren’t falling. So just trying to get to the basket for easy baskets, easy looks. I tried to do that a little more this game.”
Houstan was one of the first players on the floor to get shots up before the game. It is the extra work and pre-visualization of snapping out of a slump that helped him on Tuesday.
“I just do visualization of me just making shots,” Houstan said. “Just like getting repetitive stuff of me just seeing the ball go in the rim.”
Michigan basketball teammates rally around Houstan
Coming into the night, Houstan was shooting a touch over 29% from three-point range. The offense throughout the season has come and gone, but he has not lost any support from his teammates.
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“It’s easy to get down on yourself, especially when you know you’re better than what you’re playing,” sophomore center Dickinson said. “I’ve experienced the same things. It’s up and downs with basketball. You have your highs and your lows and just try to stay as consistent as possible.”
Senior point guard DeVante’ Jones went through similar struggles earlier in the year but has picked it up of late. His message to Houstan has been to keep letting shots fly.
“Keep shooting. You’re probably the best shooter on the team,” Jones recalled telling Houstan. “We believe in you. We’re going to keep giving you the rock. Just keep showing confidence because we feel like you’re probably one of the best shooters in the country.’ We keep feeding him. When he’s open, he’ll knock it down.”
Houstan and the Wolverines will look to keep things going with a road tilt at Indiana on Sunday. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
