Wolverine TV podcast: Borton and Crawford react to NBA Combine invites
TheWolverine.com’s John Borton and guest Tom Crawford discuss the news that both Michigan forwards, Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan, have received invites to the NBA Combine. What does it mean for the roster and what comes next? That is to be determined.
Also covered is football’s non-conference schedules and the little resistance there over the next few seasons.
Watch or listen to the Michigan discussion below
“Michigan, it’s been my dream to take my game to the next level,” Diabate said when he announced he would be declaring. “With that in mind, I feel now is the right time to explore the NBA Draft evaluation process. I am excited to learn and go through the processes I have heard so much about. It is important to say the support and guidance Coach Howard and the staff has given me has been such a gift. I have appreciated all they have done for me and my family. I will be entering my name into the 2022 NBA Draft process.”
Diabate was one of Michigan’s five-star additions in 2021 and started 26 of 32 games for the Wolverines. He averaged nine points and six rebounds per game while shooting 52.4% from the floor. He was considered a potential lottery prospect ahead of the season but is not present on prospect boards as of this posting.
Houstan, who was the other five-star signee and No. 10 prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, started every game at Michigan this season. He averaged 10.1 points, four rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Houstan shot 38.4% from the field with a 35.5% mark from three-point range. He came into the season as a potential NBA lottery pick but did not appear on draft boards at year’s end.
As our Clayton Sayfie wrote, Houstan was one of the Big Ten’s best freshmen in 2021-22.
“Houstan’s omission from the All-Big Ten freshman team was … a surprising one,” Sayfie wrote. “There was a fairly good argument that he should’ve made the cut over multiple players who were on the list. It included Diabate, Michigan State guard Max Christie, Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn, Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens and Ohio State guard Malaki Branham, who was named freshman of the year. Houstan could have reasonably made the all-freshman team over either Diabate, Christie or Hepburn.
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“Christie and Houstan are easy to compare, since they play similar positions and are on teams of a similar caliber. When the selections were made at the conclusion of the regular season, Christie was averaging 9.3 points (third on his team), 3.4 rebounds and just under 1.5 assists per game. Houstan posted 10.5 points, four rebounds and 1.4 assists per outing during the regular season.
“Both known as sharpshooters, Houstan was shooting 36.6 percent from three-point range, while Christie was at just 30.5 percent.”
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