Caleb Houstan to Michigan Basketball makes a lot of sense

Caleb Houstan recently named his top-four schools and is expected to make his college decision in the next month. Michigan basketball made that final list and the fit makes a lot of sense.

I know there is a good portion of the Michigan basketball fanbase that reads these articles and rolls their eyes. “Michigan doesn’t get five-stars.” “We always make the top lists and they never choose Michigan.”

I’m not writing this piece to convince anyone that Caleb Houstan is coming to Michigan. He has been pretty quiet and I doubt anybody knows where he’s going at this time. I’m writing this to explain why Caleb Houstan to Michigan makes a ton of sense.

First off, if you don’t know who Caleb Houstan is, go and watch some tape on him. He’s a special talent. Houstan is ranked as a five-star and as the 8th overall player in the 2021 class. He’s a 6’8 wing who can play the three or the four and is in my opinion the best shooter in the class.

So why do I feel he is such a good fit for Michigan basketball? Three reasons; development, role, and playing time.

Development

We are only in year two of the Juwan Howard era so development is not something that gets talked about much. We don’t have a history of how well players develop in this system so it’s a bit of an unknown.

But I think Caleb Houstan would thrive at this program from a developmental standpoint because of Michigan’s three assistant coaches. Juwan Howard knows how to help and develop a big. Houstan is 6’8 and will have to develop at least some sort of a post game.

Howard Eisley spent a decade in the NBA and would help Houstan develop his guard and ball handling skills. And lastly, Saddi Washington had done a terrific job with the wings on this team. See the development of Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner as an example.

Caleb Houstan would get a combination of NBA proven players to help develop and make him a versatile player.

Role

As mentioned before, Houstan is a wing who can play either the three or the four and is an elite 3-point shooter. Does that remind you of anyone on the current team?

Howard is able to show Houstan film on how Michigan uses Isaiah Livers and how similar their roles would be. Houstan could come in and play almost an identical role.

Michigan will need another athletic wing who can shoot after Livers graduates and Houstan would take over and fit almost perfectly.

Playing Time

It’s not a guarantee that just because you’re a five-star, you will come in and start right away. For example, over 25% of the five-stars in the 2018 class did not start as a freshman. So what makes Michigan such a good fit as far as playing time is concerned? Michigan will likely lose both of their starting wings after this upcoming season.

Houstan would come in as a true freshman with a very likely chance to start at one of those two spots. He would be the perfect replacement for Isaiah Livers in this offense.

When you look at development, role, and playing time, there’s not a school on Houstan’s final-four list that is a better fit than Michigan. For those reasons, I really its chances of getting him.