Michigan Basketball: 3 thoughts on roster in a state of flux

Diabate likely gone

Even before Moussa Diabate received an invite to the NBA draft combine, I didn’t think he was going to return to Michigan basketball and now, in my opinion, he’s 100 percent gone.

Only the top 60 players receive invites to the NBA draft combine and Diabate is going to test really well. So the fact that enough teams voted for him to be there really tells you all you need to know.

His athleticism and his potential will be enough for him to get drafted in the second round. A team can sign him to a multi-year deal and then stick him in the G-League to develop. He needs more seasoning and more time playing basketball, so that’s a perfect solution.

It hasn’t been reported whether or not Houstan got an NBA combine invite but I would think he would get a G-League combine invite which generally goes to the top 100 prospects. That would give him a chance to play his way into the NBA combine.

On the recent big board released by The Athletic, Diabate was No. 50 and Houstan was 54th. So it’s very possible that both have played their last basketball for the Wolverines.

The best-case scenario at this point is Houstan returning. He’s probably going to be a borderline second-round pick and if he returned, added to his body, and shot the ball more consistently next season, he could easily be projected as a first-rounder again.

But right now, he’s a 6-foot-9 kid that was supposed to be a high school senior last season and shot 39 percent from 3-point range in Big Ten play. I’m sure like Moussa, even if he’s not drafted, a team would probably be willing to invest in a multi-year deal for him just based on potential.

So we’ll see what happens but it’s far from a sure thing that either will be back for Michigan basketball next season. Moussa is as good as gone, now we wait on Caleb.