Michigan Basketball: Update on 5-star Caleb Houstan

Juwan Howard and the rest of the Michigan basketball staff is working hard to finish out the 2021 recruiting class. One of their top remaining priorities is Caleb Houstan, a five-star wing from Florida.

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece where I ranked the contenders to land Caleb Houstan. I wrote that Michigan basketball and Alabama were the front runners and I felt that this would end up being a two team race.

Eric Bossi of 247Sports feels the same way. In a mailbag piece that he wrote this week, Bossi had this to say about the recruitment of Houstan:

"I don’t feel near confident enough to make a Crystal Ball prediction on Houstan just yet, but if I had to bet I’d I would say that Alabama and Michigan make up the upper tier while Duke and Virginia may still have a little ground to make up. This one is likely coming down to the wire."

On paper, you would have to like Michigan’s chances here. Michigan has more recent proven success, they face a bit tougher competition in the Big Ten, and they are coached by Juwan Howard who spent two decades in and around the NBA.

But liking Michigan’s chances on paper hasn’t mattered much lately. In recent memory, the Wolverines have lost top guys to programs like Arkansas, Arizona State, Florida State, Stanford, and others.

Will Michigan basketball finally get a five-star?

While the vibe with many Michigan fans continues to be somewhat frustrated that Juwan hasn’t landed his first five-star yet, I remain extremely optimistic that he’s doing a fantastic job on the recruiting trail.

Howard is only in year two and he didn’t have the luxury of being on the AAU scene before coaching like Penny Hardaway did. It’s going to take some time to build those relationships and land several of these top prospects.

And Caleb Houstan is a guy that could break the drought of Michigan not landing any five-stars. Juwan Howard has done a great job with this recruitment and the Wolverines will have a really good shot here. The fit makes a lot of sense. He’d be replacing Livers or Wagner and would be in a position to start as a freshman.

Houstan is expected to make his college decision before his high school season starts. So we should have word where he will be attending school in the next three to four weeks.

Michigan basketball has a chance to close this recruiting class strong. It will come down to the wire but I love their chances at landing Houstan.