Michigan wing Caleb Houstan up in mock drafts, Diabate down
The deadline for for Michigan players Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate to withdraw from the NBA Draft process is tomorrow (June 1) at midnight. There’s still no indication what either will do, though there has been movement in mock drafts.
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ESPN.com’s Jonathan Givony now mocks Michigan wing Houstan to San Antonio at No. 25 overall.
One of the big mysteries of the 2022 NBA draft is where Houstan, once a projected top-10 pick, ends up,” Givony wrote. “Houstan declined his invite to the NBA combine, indicating there might be something to the rumors of a first-round promise, or that Houstan has a landing spot with which he’s comfortable.”
Givony has long seemed to be tied in closely with the Houstan camp. That he speaks so definitively about Houstan “ending up” somewhere via the draft makes it seem more likely the sophomore-to-be won’t return to Michigan.
The Houstan camp has been silent through the process, but the wing has never been about publicity or sharing his plans with the world. Regardless, if we had to guess, we’d say Houstan remains in the draft. Michigan coaches would then likely explore the transfer portal for a possible replacement.
Houstan averaged 10.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last year. He shot 35.5 percent from three-point range, though he struggled much of the year on the road.
Oklahoma City is another franchise rumored to be interested in Houstan. The Thunder have several picks in this year’s draft.
Moussa Diabate Michigan status remains in doubt
Diabate, meanwhile, worked out for the Atlanta Hawks Monday and continues to prepare as though he’s going to stay in the draft. Givony, however, doesn’t have him listed among the 60 draft picks in two rounds, and there’s been more speculation he’ll return for his sophomore year.
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The Michigan frosh averaged 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in 2021 and tested well at the combine. He scored 10 points in one of the scrimmages and pulled down 14 rebounds.
Diabate has been dropping from mock draft boards with regularity recently. SI.com’s Brett Siegel recently put out a mock that didn’t include him. He also had Houstan going to Charlotte No. 45 overall (second round pick).
Regardless, the Michigan standout said he was pleased with his combine performance. He was first among centers in the shuttle run, second in three-quarter court sprint, second in standing vertical jump, first in max vertical and land agility.
“It definitely makes a change, and it’s definitely going to improve my stock because, at the end of the day, when you do good in the testing, I think the team can trust you more. They see potential, and probably I’ve shown them something they were surprised of, that they probably didn’t think I had in me,” he told the Big Ten Network.
Diabate also said he believed he showed potential in his shooting, an area of weakness this year.
None of it guarantees he’s coming back. At this point, however, he appears — at least on the surface — more likely than Houstan to be wearing maize and blue for one more year.
