NBA draft: Michigan basketball's Caleb Houstan picked by Orlando Magic in second round
Three months of mystery and misdirection ended Thursday when former Michigan basketball small forward Caleb Houstan heard his name called in the 2022 NBA draft.
Houstan, who arrived in Ann Arbor as a five-star recruit and stayed just one season, was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 32nd overall pick in the second round.
Orlando drafted Michigan wing Franz Wagner last summer and also have his brother, former Wolverines center Moritz Wagner, and Ignas Brazdeikis, the former Big Ten Freshman of the Year, on the roster.
The path from Crisler Center to the NBA was an unusual one for Houstan, who endured an up-and-down freshman season in which he averaged 10.1 points and four rebounds per game while shooting 38.4% from the floor and 35.5% from 3-point range. He declined an invite to attend the NBA combine in Chicago and refused to work out for teams until after the June 1 deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the draft and return to college.
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Such secrecy surrounding a player with modest production fueled rumors of a potential promise near the back end of the first round, though exactly which team was interested and how ironclad that promise might have been remain unclear. League sources who spoke to the Free Press earlier this spring speculated the promise could fall between picks Nos. 25-40 and identified the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic as potential suitors.
One league source said Houstan’s mother, Andrea, had strongly encouraged her son to pursue the NBA despite the turbulent season at U-M. Her influence on the pre-draft process was described by the source as potentially overbearing and, at times, dismissive of more seasoned basketball opinions. A source close to the U-M program who was familiar with Houstan’s decision making process confirmed the account of powerful influence from his mother.
But the unusual nature of how he got here will be forgotten if Houstan prospers as a sharpshooting wing in the NBA. He showed flashes of game-changing potential in a starting role for the Wolverines while struggling to bottle the consistency expected of perimeter threats at the next level.
Houstan left Michigan with plenty of room to grow and, at just 19 years old, more than enough time to do it. Orlando is betting on his upside.
Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NBA draft: Michigan's Caleb Houstan picked by Orlando Magic in Round 2
