Michigan Basketball: Breaking down Caleb Houstan’s NBA draft decision

Michigan basketball’s Caleb Houstan has declared for the 2022 NBA draft and here’s a look at what it means for him and the Wolverines.

When Caleb Houstan committed to Michigan basketball, many expected him to be a lottery pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft.

At the very least, he was projected to be a first-round pick after signing with the Wolverines as a five-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.

However, despite some stellar play against international competition, Houstan struggled in his transition to college basketball last season and had some rough outings. He also had some really good moments and finished the season shooting 39 percent from 3-point range in Big Ten play.

Yet, his road and home splits were drastically different and he’s going to need to learn to shoot the ball well on the road if he’s going to play in the NBA.

Hunter Dickinson announced that he was going to return to Michigan basketball next season on Sunday and earlier on Monday, we found out that Moussa Diabate was testing the NBA draft waters and finally on Monday night, we learned that Houstan would do the same.

Breaking down Caleb Houstan’s decision

As someone with pro aspirations, it would be silly for Houstan to not at least get some feedback from the NBA for the future. Dickinson did it last year and a bunch of other former Wolverines have taken that step too.

It’s a valuable tool and just because Houstan declared for the draft doesn’t mean he won’t return to Ann Arbor for the 2022-23 season.

His name hasn’t been showing up in recent mock drafts and if he returns, he will have plenty of open looks next season, as well as opportunities to prove that he’s expanded his game offensively, which is something else he needs to do.

So at this point, I wouldn’t be overly concerned. Yet, if Caleb stays in the draft, it will only make Michigan’s need to add shooting this offseason a bigger priority.