The Decision on Caleb and Diabate is....?
Mates,
Of course we're all happy about Hunter staying, a huge boost for next year's team. But nothing in the stratosphere about Caleb and Diabate. Saw the 247 article linked in a comment to Seth's post about those two and a comment in there said neither of these two are on social media (I'm not, so as per usual I'm no help) and that of course the program has made no announcement.
So for now I guess we're all....
Let's hope for more good news from our guys, and no matter what, the best for them.
Have a fine Monday,
XM
I could see Diabate being drafted on potential alone but there is no way in hell Houstan even sniffs the NBA at the point in his career
I mentioned this yesterday, but don’t discount the fact that there are complications with both of them in terms of making NIL money. Very possible they feel the best path for them is to make money playing basketball (even in the G-League) and receiving professional training instead of the limits of college practice.
April 25th, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
Regarding the G-League route and perhaps getting more developmental opportunities compared to college, I found Tim McCormick's words on this topic very revealing in a recent podcast/broadcast session with Sam Webb.
Tim rather adamantly debunked the "NBA is a developmental league" myth. The G-League/NBA bench route works out positively for some players, especially those that get drafted by excellent organizations with a long range vision (case exemplar: Jordan Poole). But so many others get left in the dust for a variety of reasons, including the pressure for coaches to win in both the G-League (so they can move up the ladder) and the NBA. Short term roster management often outweigh the longer term vision.
And his words are strikingly opposite of how the NBA draft works - athleticism and potential dominate the draft board. But potential usually requires serious development.
Tim also stated that his NBA development largely hinged on himself. He hired people to practice with him outside of regular practice hours. His viewpoint is admittedly based on his experience many decades ago. Maybe things have indeed changed. But I would think he still has his finger on the pulse of the modern day NBA.
He hired people to practice with him outside of regular practice hours.
Something that would no doubt be easier to do if you’re getting paid to play basketball and don’t have to balance classes and homework on top of your basketball schedule
April 25th, 2022 at 10:27 AM ^
Caleb started 34 of the 34 games played last season. He played the second most minutes on the team...and this was all for very good reason. Contrary to all the negs he continues to receive from so many fans this young man's basketball talent is high. Whether the average fan realizes it or not his basketball IQ is very high. When he matures a bit physically and gets his feet under him chances are good that he enters an elite grouping of players.
It would be nice for Michigan basketball to have him return. It's his choice...and he is fortunate to have our terrific coaching staff looking out for him in this regard. We will see.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^
They had nobody else
Only at Michigan could decisions like these not make ANY news.
It's not the hard deadline to return that people have made it out to be. It's just one piece of the puzzle.
The next one is the last day they can enter the portal without penalty of sitting a year.
Don't know why this is being overlooked. Guarantee these guys have coaches at other schools telling them they can come get more NIL money by transferring to (school X).
Or maybe they're waiting on their cool social media video to be edited. Who knows? But they still have options other than Michigan, so not sure any of us should exhale just yet.
We have 463 sports reporters covering this team and none mention what these two are doing.
They are all eating popcorn and watching. Can't type with buttery fingers...
April 25th, 2022 at 10:38 AM ^
“Insiders”
I ASSume that they toe-in-the-water declared, so they can get NBA feedback. Diabate will likely get positive feedback (“you can develop your game in the League”). Houstan will like get feedback on what he needs to improve (“shooting off the dribble, rather that spot-up, defense, etc”). I would expect Houstan to stay.
Not sure about your assessment. I think Diabate would get feedback that you need to develop a shot and become far more polished in multiple areas before you are ready to play professionally.
But its the fact that he has multiple areas that hes going to improve that makes him so tantalizing as an NBA prospect. Every player coming out of the draft has areas to polish and as fans we always think they should come back to school to work on them.
Moussa strikes me as a classic back end of the 1st round NBA pick. Picking in the late first you're mostly looking at older college prospects with clear cut holes and deficiencies that are unlikely to be overcome and maybe they can become a role player. Or you snag someone like Diabate who is clearly a year or two away from making any impact but has the tools to be developed into a legit player for you.
my ASSumption is partially based on there being no reports. If they were all-in NBA, there would likely been a public statement (Even if Moustan aren't on the socials, there would have been a school/reporter post). Likewise, if they were returning, the school would have announced.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:00 AM ^
Ok, I guess my assumption was it would have been made very public if they were testing the waters, but maybe that’s not the case.
i generally side with the athletic department on whether they “should” or “shouldn’t” announce stuff…but this actually surprises me. there’s really no downside to saying something.
You would think one of the 500 sources covering the nba would get an updated list, especially a west coast paper since the deadline was late.
The list is generally released ~36 hours after the deadline. There's not a live public list of who has declared.
I read that too but these were top 15 recruits out of high school and play for a top University. It’s really kind of baffling to me that there has been zero leaks of any kind.
Both Moussa and Caleb hold very attractive NBA potential. Them staying or going would seem to be totally dependent upon their personal priorities and timelines. I have no idea how Hunter staying affects their viewing of their situations at Michigan.
Caleb doesn’t hold much at this point to be attractive.
The 6’8 freshman who averaged over 10 a game on team that by statistics was top 25 while shooting 36% from 3 doesn’t have potential the nba is interested in? He just basically has duncan Robinsons senior year as a freshman, of course it’s possible some team thinks him spending a year in the G league and at practice just focusing on shooting off screens and movement is going to turn him into a valuable player. It’s going to be a second rounder but if he thinks getting to focus 100% on basketball is better than having your coaching hours capped at 20 a week he could go.
My guess is he stays but people really underselling the year houstan had as a freshman because they are disappointed he didn’t have the impact you hope from a top 10 recruit.
And Duncan went undrafted… I don’t think Houstan is as long as him either. I like Houstan I think he has great potential however he’s not going to get drafted in this class.
April 25th, 2022 at 11:12 AM ^
Duncan went undrafted because he was a 23 year old senior with five years in college showing what was perceived as his ceiling. As a 19 year old freshman Houstan can still be seen as having untapped potential that would result in a second round pick.
A lot of people in this thread don't follow the NBA at all and have no concept of how the draft works. A second round pick to NBA teams is a lottery ticket flyer, nobody expects those players to stick in the NBA and you are looking for opportunities to get a steal. A 6'8 guy who is seen as having high level shooting potential is one of those skill sets a team could use a second rounder on. I'm not arguing its super likely, I just think people are way too dismissive of it, and generally are way to harsh on the season Houstan had. He wasn't an elite game changing player, he was very very solid for a freshman.
April 25th, 2022 at 11:28 AM ^
i agree with your assessment with one exception: i think houstan had an 'okay' freshman year. not great, had some good games, had a fair number of meh-to-bad games, seemed to improve some on defense but needs more work.
regardless, best for both of them no matter their decision.
Thanks for making some very salient points. It seems like we all had so much hope that Caleb would be a wunderkind that we overlook what he was, a solid freshman player with length who can shoot the ball - nothing to sneeze at!
I still hope he returns, selfishly, and I could see his progression be significant in year two.
>The 6’8 freshman who averaged over 10 a game on team that by statistics was top 25 while shooting 36% from 3 doesn’t have potential the nba is interested in?
Being tall and an okay shooter is not enough to be in the NBA lol, nor can you compare him to Duncan at all. Not sure why you listed these things as if 10 ppg on 36% is something crazy lol
April 25th, 2022 at 10:24 AM ^
Hell, the previous year Brandon Johns shot over 36% and is longer than Caleb. These are not end-all, be-all stats.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:10 AM ^
Message boards are where people come to flap their gums. This entire thread is nothing but a recycling of platitudes and tired tropes about these two players, repeated 100s of times on the board. I'm looking forward to when we have some real news about the two great, very talented players.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:27 AM ^
Has someone posted that they were the only one that was happy Jordan Poole declared for the draft yet?
Suppose they both declared. It would be a little odd to wait until the last minute *and* not say anything through some route.
Team prospects aside (very important here) I'd most like to see Diabate back. I think he's still far from his ceiling. In contrast, I think we've seen close to peak Dickinson.
If Hunter brings his defense from 21 and offense from 22…we will see peak Hunter.
Im glad i am not the only one who thinks he regressed - a decent amount - defensively in a year. I do not recall him repeatedly getting blown by for layups his freshmen year.
That team had NBA caliber defensive wings. Franz, Livers and Brown were all capable wing defenders. In addition, Eli could focus more on defense instead of being a top offensive option. Change those guys out with Houstan and Williams, put more on Brooks plate offensively and have few bench wings and you get Dickinson performing worse on defense.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
He didn't regress. He was exposed because of a lack of wing defenders covering for him. He's still a defensive liability due to a lack of mobility. He's still the same defender he always has been. Just don't get him exposed in space
To preface, I like Moussa’s potential a lot, and he works really hard. But at the risk of taking all the negs, if the deal is that Moussa coming back means the default lineup is both Dickinson and Moussa playing together I would probably wish Moussa all the best in his next endeavor. That lineup 1) did not work, 2) prevented both from being as good as they can be, 3) was the death of proper spacing on the court, 4) forced both to worry about foul trouble instead of neither, and 5) Howard is not going to go away from it if they are both here.
If Diabate was told he is getting 15-20 as backup center and rotation minutes with Hunter and he still came back that would be awesome but I saw no indication that was being considered.
Mostly agree with this.
With Frankie as the PG, you need three guys who can hit 3's at a 38-40% clip.
Frankie running the show from the top. Hunter commanding the low post and stepping out occasionally. Three others who can hit shots from outside.
In order for the Dickinson/Diabate lineup to work, Diabate seriously needs to improve his midrange game for the high/low to work. He was just way too raw and inconsistent to be at the 4 in this offense
I mean if they go they go but second round is the best case for either of of them right now. Diabate has NBA athleticsm easily but with the way the game has changed he needs to develop a halfway decent shot, if he does he could be a top 10-15 guy next year . He is also just unpolished in general. Obviously Houstan has quite a bit to work on too and doesn't possess the athleticsm Diabate does. I can see both guys maybe going through the process to get the evaluations but neither would get one back that would suggest anything better than second round pick right now.
Who has Diabetes???
Autocorrect does.
The answer is that we have Hunter Dickenson back and he is going to hurt people. I'm happy
I think they decided to have cereal for breakfast.
I’m pretty sure it’s G-League or NIL and current pay vs future pay.
Does Caleb even need speculation?
He should not even need to make an announcement.
He is not even close to being ready.
Houston has plenty of reason to consider entering the draft. The NBA drafts on potential and he has plenty of it. Biggest issue is consistency and I'm not shocked that a 19 year old has yet to find it. He shot it really good in 15 games and awful in 17 games. 11 of the 17 bad shooting games were on the road or in the tourney. Has the body and the stroke that would get him drafted if he left, imo. Just maybe not in the first round. I do think he stays, but to say he has no reason to explore the nba is probably short-sighted.
He is a catch and shoot three that needs to add strength and more importantly foot speed. He doesn’t dribble particularly well and doesn’t shoot off the dribble. He doesn’t post up and struggles on D.
He seems like a kid who hasn’t grown into his body yet. He would be a fish out of water with the speed of the NBA game.
Camp Sanderson will make a huge difference for him. Juwan has shown an ability to develop players.
He could and should make a huge jump next year.