Caleb Houstan showing out at FIBA U19s
https://twitter.com/umichbball/status/1413501295202164749
This hasn't really been talked about much on the board but freshman F Caleb Houstan has been suiting up for Team Canada in the FIBA U19s and has absolutely been killing it. Putting up double digit scoring almost every game, rebounding well, showing quick hands on defense, and has been showing an ability to the ball on the floor and get to the basket that we didn't see too much at Montverde. Yesterday he put up 25 points against Spain and soon Canada will likely play Team USA in the finals, which should be a great game.
He's having a good tournament, despite not shooting well from 3-pt range.
Houstan was discussed a lot on the podcast - Houstan is a kid that does everything well and doesn't take time off on defense, has great vision as well.
I think he's going to have a really early impact for Michigan.
Yea this has made me much more excited for Houstan. At first I was worried he'd be an elite shooter but not add much else, at least initially. Houstan has shown off a diverse offensive game, and he projects as capable of attacking closeouts, being a secondary ball-handler in pick and roll a la Franz Wagner, and having top notch defensive instincts (he's been generating steals like crazy).
I'm not too worried about the shooting. His coaches and teammates have continued to have faith in him to put up shots, and he hasn't been gun shy, with 8 3PA per game. Plus he has made 11/12 free throws which is a good sign.
We probably need him to, because I don't expect him to be long for college.
We can all pray he is one of many catalysts that help Michigan win a natty next year.
Get used to playing in big games, son…
If you listen to Craig on the podcast, Houstan isn't all that. He downplays Houstan's 3-pt shooting in a big, derisive way. He does, however, credit his improved play in all other aspects of the game.
My perspective? I think he's concentrating on improving his handle, movement away from the ball, and driving abilities. All of this was praised as a big improvement over what we saw from Montverde film. If he's doing that, it's understandable that his long shot would fall off a bit. It's also believable that, as he continues to improve those other facets and builds muscle memory and instinct, the shooting will come back. I'm not worried about him - he'll be a great player at UM.
He’s known for shooting and it’s not going for him but yet he’s still showing out. I don’t get how he can dog him because he’s using the whole arsenal to
make an impact. He’s not just a shooter. Which that style game translates well. His shooting will come back.
Lighten up a little. Craig wasn't insulting the kid. He was just stating a simple observation that he watched him for 2-3 games and in those games the kid shot poorly. Which he did.
Houstan was hitting NBA range 3s in high school at a high clip. I'm not worried about that. I think at Montverde he filled his 3 and D role well and I think his role will be similar at Michigan, however, it's cool to see that his upside and off the dribble ability seems to be better than we thought
I never listened to the podcast, and do not know who Craig is. But this cannot be further from the truth.
Houstan has an amazingly smooth stroke. If you watch him shoot, there should be no worry at all. Sure, he can hit a short streak of bad shooting - everyone does. But the mechanics are elite.
Also, he does always looks calm out there. But just because he 'looks' calm, does not mean he is calm. There is probably a lot of pressure and a lot of static running through his mind.
I don’t want to put words in Craig’s mouth (he’s here on the message boards and can speak for himself), but I listened to the podcast yesterday, and I did not feel Craig was derisive. He was quite effusive about Houstan’s ball handling, defense and ability to run pick and roll. Craig was skeptical about his shooting; earlier this week Houstan went 7-20, including 3-11 from 3. He worried that, against high-level players, Houstan would be ineffective as a shooter.
Brian, and Sam to a lesser degree, countered that Houstan has a whole season of data from playing the top HS competition in the country that says otherwise.
To be fair, Houstan is now 8-40 in 5 games. If this is all you had seen of him, you'd be skeptical he was an elite shooter too. Personally, I'm not too worried, but there is a risk that he shows inconsistency at the college level.
I mean that risk exists with any player. People do realize the caliber of talent on Montverde and the types of teams they would play during season. They could probably beat some the u19 teams. All I’m saying is that the relative probably of Houstan shooting 20% at Michigan is quite low based on the entire body of evidence we have including his high school stats, his shooting form, 6 8 size and the fact that he is largely going to be able to be parked on the 3 point line in catch and shoot positions.
Imagine looking at Houstan’s size then watching his actual form on his shot and think he will struggle shooting in college.
His ability to defend and athleticism(speed, lateral movement, ability to creat own shot) are the worry for him not his shooting.
I listened to them live and that's a very good assessment of the conversation. I'm not at all worried about his 3 point shooting. These games are still a relatively small sample size, plus I attribute a lot of it to just adjusting to the higher caliber of play against more experienced players. He'll learn, adjust, and with good coaching from our staff, he'll be a great 3 point shooter at Michigan.
I listened to that. Pretty sure Craig formed his not a shooter opinion based on watching a couple Canada games. Craig seems like he's watching as a fan and has no particular expertise.
My perspective. Craig is flatly wrong and his take is devoid entirely of sample size context. Houstan is a unanimously viewed as an elite shooter and there are multiple seasons of data from montverde against better competition than some of the U19 squads. He also is getting very aggressive close outs given his rep as a shooter and is adapting to taking it to the rim more readily now.
this clip shows just 2 examples at like 32 and 42 seconds.
https://twitter.com/umichbball/status/1413501295202164749?s=21
I don't think Craig was being derisive. He just pointed out that he is known as a shooter but was not hitting much in the tournament. And he did say that the higher level of defense he was seeing might be causing the poor shooting. However, Craig was greatly impressed's by Houstan's performance in every other aspect of the game. It was not an irrational question.
That's not how I took it. He hasn't been shooting it well from 3, and Craig just pointed it out. I think the big difference is he was only needed to spot up and shoot the 3 with Montverde, so he was much more efficient doing it. With team Canada, he is being asked to do more, and he is doing more, which has hurt his 3 pt shooting a little. The stroke is pure, and he will get it back, but he won't be asked to do the same things at Michigan that team Canada is asking, so we shall see.
Craig said he wasn't shooting well, but admitted it was a small sample size, and was just like "oh okay" when Brian said he was actually a good shooter.
Other than that, Craig loved him and had heaps of praise. Not sure how glowing someone has to be to avoid being labeled hugely derisive.
Isn’t the FIBA ball slightly bigger and heavier and the three point line between college and nba distance? If so, these small changes could also be affecting his shot just slightly.
Let me be yet another person to say that that is not at all what Craig said. He said he had heard he was just a shooter but in the FIBA games he's been great at everything else and not shooting well at all. Then he went on to say that he has great mechanics and is a good free throw shooter and sees no reason why he couldn't be a 40% 3 point shooter as well. Your take away from that should be positive not negative and Craig himself said he was very high on the kid after watching the games, higher than before.
Thank you, Jonesy and others, this is what I attempted to communicate. I have been very impressed by Houstan. His ball handing, passing and defense are better than I had anticipated. He has shot very well from the FT line and I expect him to be an 80%+ shooter at UM. However, he has not shot it well from 3, I think 8-40 (20%) may be accurate since it was 7-33 heading into the last game, which I haven't watched yet. I concede and hope this is a sample size matter or some other anomaly, since I think his mechanics are good. Very good, truly.
I don't think I communicated anything else and I certainly had no intent to be derisive of a player I have great hopes for. All I stated, pretty sure, is that he was not shooting well from three and it was a cloud of concern for me.
Cool. Maizenbrew did a piece on this too but I haven't seen anybody talking about the level of competition. Is this strictly pre-college kids? Either way it's awesome.
Purdue’s Zach Edey is playing with Houstan for Canada. Edey is averaging 16 and 14 in 22 minutes. He’s a monster. Hard to believe he’s an under 19.
One of his teammates is Zach Edey so there are some college players there. Canada's next game will be against the US (assuming the US takes care of business today), so this will be a great chance to see him against elite competition. The US has Jaden Ivey from Purdue, Jonathan Davis from Wisconsin, Chet Holmgren, and Adam Miller, among others.
I believe they (podcast guys) also said that Chuck Bediako was on Canada's team, along with someone else (I forget the name). So yeah, plenty of P5 college level players are in this thing.
Yep Bediako is also on Canada. Other notable teammates:
- Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona
- Ryan Nembhard, Creighton signee
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Marquette
- Elijah Fisher, #4 composite in 2023 class
- Javonte Brown-Ferguson, Texas A&M
Shooting like 15% from 3 which is weird. On a ton of volume too. He’s showing out in all the ways no one expected him to.
Ya 20% on tourney so far, which admittedly sucks but in every other aspect has impressed me. I’ll chalk it up to him carrying much larger role on this team and fluke. His form is excellent, he shot nearly 40% from 3 last year at the best high school basketball program in the country, and he plays high level competition year round. There is a reason he is viewed unanimously as a top shooter in the class.
He travelled for sure on that last bucket
You can travel in Canada if you’re vaccinated.
They’re so scared of his shooting, his pump fakes are getting guys off the floor and he is able to drive and has great touch. Nice.
Focusing on his difficulty from the 3-pt line is missing the point, IMO. If he is showing that he can score in many different ways, he can be that guy on this year's team that can get us a bucket when we need it, and that is clearly necessary for a deep tournament run. There are times when you just need someone to make a shot / get to the line.
Article on Houstan attempting to match RJ Barrett's success with Canada's U19 win in 2017 to win the Gold Medal.
Seems like a good kid whose focus is really locked in on being a baskerball player - doesn't even bother with social media...
Like this kid already
Looking forward to the BB season.
Great news ! Listening to what Martelli said , Big Will is looking impressive and looking to get minutes right away . The one nobody is talking about is putting in the work