Michigan wing Caleb Houstan projected as first-round pick in latest NBA mock draft
It’s moving week for the NBA Draft, with the lottery in the books and the draft order set, the G League Elite Camp ongoing and the combine set to commence later this week (May 18-20 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago). And Michigan sophomore-to-be wing Caleb Houstan appears to be one of the biggest movers of them all.
Houstan’s classmate, Michigan sophomore forward Moussa Diabate, is set to participate in this week’s combine. He did not appear in the 58-pick mock draft. Both Houstan and Diabate have until June 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET to withdraw from the draft and retain their collegiate eligibility.
As TheWolverine.com first reported, Houstan received a combine invite. But in a surprising move, he decided to decline the invitation and has not given interviews explaining exactly why. That has led to speculation, including ESPN.com analyst Jonathan Givony reporting that some teams believe Houstan has a ‘first-round guarantee.’
Now, in his brand new mock draft, Givony has projected Houstan to be selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the No. 30 overall pick, the last choice in the first round.
“The Thunder have precious few roster spots at their disposal and four draft picks (three first-rounders), meaning there is a decent chance they won’t be making this selection ultimately,” Givony wrote.
“One of the big mysteries surrounding the 2022 NBA draft will be where Caleb Houstan, a onetime projected top-10 pick, ends up. 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 he’s comfortable with.
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“Houstan’s positional size, defensive awareness and perimeter shooting gives him a high floor as a prospect, despite his disappointing freshman season at Michigan.”
Meanwhile, The Athletic‘s Sam Vecenie pegged Houstan as the No. 36 pick, early second round to the Portland Trail Blazers.
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While Givony described Houstan’s freshman season as “disappointing,” Houstan did have some big moments, including 17 double-figure scoring nights. He averaged 10.1 points, four rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, and shot 38.4 percent from the field. Michigan was 10-1 when he scored 13 or more points. He hit 35.5 percent of his 169 three-point attempts, standing as the last Michigan player to nail 60 or more triples in a season since Jordan Poole in 2019. He connected on 47.7 percent of his three-point attempts at Crisler Center, just 29 percent on the road and 26.2 percent on neutral floors.
Still, Houstan didn’t do as much on the ball as many expected him to ahead of his freshman campaign. He ran just 6.7 percent of Michigan’s pick-and-roll action last year, a stunningly low amount given the roster makeup. For comparison’s sake, Nik Stauskas, who played a similar position as a freshman in 2012-13, accounted for 13 percent of the Wolverines’ pick-and-roll attempts despite playing with national player of the year Trey Burke and star Tim Hardaway Jr.
If Houstan is picked in the first round of the NBA Draft, which will be held June 23, he will become the Wolverines’ ninth first-rounder since 2013.
