Michigan Basketball: Grading Caleb Houstan to the Orlando Magic

Another Wolverine will be playing in Orlando after the NBA Draft on Thursday night. Caleb Houstan was drafted number 32 overall in the second round to the Orlando Magic, where he will be joining some familiar names for wolverine fans. 

Michigan basketball’s Caleb Houstan was a wild card coming into the draft; the former five-star recruit and the 11th-ranked player in his class was projected to be a lottery pick coming into the season. This didn’t play out, but Houstan still got picked by a young team that can use his talent, so let’s see how he fits onto the Magic squad.

Grading the selection of Caleb Houstan by Orlando

As Chris Peterson mentioned in an earlier article, Houstan will be joining Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner, Iggy Brazdeikis, and Jon Teske.

Caleb Houstan had moments where he looked like the best shooter on the floor for the Wolverines, like on a three-game stretch against Rutgers, Illinois, and Michigan State, where he averaged 19.3 points a game and shot 60.6% from the floor and 74.1% from three.

This is the Caleb Houstan that would’ve been drafted in the top 14, but the freshman also had some growing pains. In the three games before those great games, Houstan put up only 5.6 points a game, shooting 27.3% percent from the floor and 18.6% from three. This shows me the most concerning part of Houstan’s game, is his inconsistency.

The Magic are a very young team which makes me believe they are willing to let Houstan grow into his own. The concern for the Magic though is how they can develop those younger players. In their past drafts, they have drafted well but the guys they selected didn’t need any development. Names like Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony all ring bells but these guys were very pro-ready and I’m not sure how well the staff in Orlando can develop a young 19-year-old.

My hope is that they don’t give up on Houstan too early, he will prob start in the g-league or off the end of the bench for Orlando. Houstan has all the tools to succeed, I don’t think he made the right decision of staying in the draft when he could of come back to Michigan basketball and really polished his game to make himself a first-round pick.

Nevertheless, he bet on himself and was drafted 32nd overall. In terms of grading the fit for Houstan, I believe the Michigan players in Orlando can help him but the staff of the Magic will have to give him a couple of years for him to reach his full potential.

The grade I give this fit is a B-.