Michigan Basketball: Caleb Houstan now projected in first round

A new NBA mock draft released on Tuesday night has Michigan basketball’s Caleb Houstan projected as a first-round draft pick, while Moussa Diabate is undrafted.

The week of the NBA Draft Combine was always going to be important for Michigan basketball and even though former Wolverine Caleb Houstan decided not to attend, there was still new information being reported about the former five-star recruit.

Earlier in the week, there was talk of Houstan receiving a first-round promise from some NBA teams and then when ESPN’s Jonathan Givony released his latest mock draft on Tuesday, Houstan was suddenly being projected in the first round to Oklahoma City.

Givony has a really tight relationship with Houstan’s camp as he’s always been the best source of reporting on him and he’s got good NBA sources so that mock draft should tell you all you need to know about Houstan’s draft stock.

Also that he won’t be coming back to Michigan basketball next season.

It seemed like a forgone conclusion when he skipped the combine. Some speculated that he might not want to damage his draft stock by working out and that he was going to return, but now that idea seems laughable.

People need to get over the fact that Houstan struggled some last season. He was projected as a lottery pick prior to this season for a reason and he was also better than people are giving him credit for. Either way, he won’t be back.

Moussa Diabate is still undrafted

Michigan basketball’s other possible one-and-done, Moussa Diabate didn’t show up in the mock draft from Givony, yet I wouldn’t get carried away about expecting him to return.

Diabate is going to impress NBA teams with his athleticism and his length. He needs time to develop and play in the G-League but even if Moussa didn’t go in the 58 picks on draft night, he would get signed to a multi-year deal quickly.

The kid has first-round ability. He’s just raw and if he stays in the draft, I still think there’s a good chance he gets drafted. Regardless, I don’t expect him back either, unless Juwan Howard and company can convince him Michigan will be better than being paid to be in the G-League, which would be the worst-case scenario.

I’m sure Michigan has been doing its due diligence on the transfer portal, but some targets won’t be known until the NBA draft entrees are finalized, but it’s looking certain that Houstan will stay in the draft, and in my opinion, Diabate will too.