Opothleyahola

Caleb Michael David Houstan (born January 9, 2003) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. Houstan was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2021 class. He won a silver medal with Canada at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship.

High school career

For his first three years, Houstan attended Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. On July 17, 2020, Houstan announced he would forgo his senior year, graduate from high school early, and reclassify to class of 2021.[1] As a freshman, he helped lead the Eagles to a 22–3 record and the semifinal of the prep national championship. As a sophomore, he averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 53.1 percent on 3-pointers, helping lead the Eagles to a perfect 25–0 record, and ranked No. 1 in the country, before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Despite the season being cut short, Montverde was declared the prep national champions.[3] He was the only non-senior to start on a roster with talented players such as Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Moses Moody, Day'Ron Sharpe, and Zeb Jackson.[4]

As a junior, he helped lead the Eagles to a 21–1 record, and the No. 1 seed in the inaugural NIBC tournament. Montverde Academy defeated Sunrise Christian Academy 61–57 to win the NIBC championship.[5] On February 5, 2021, Sunrise Christian Academy defeated Montverde Academy 66–69 in overtime, ending high school basketball's longest win streak at 44 games. Houstan led Montverde with 19 points and 10 rebounds.[6]

Houstan was named to the 2021 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and Jordan Brand Classic rosters, becoming the first Michigan signee to earn the distinction since Daniel Horton in 2002. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic were not played for the second consecutive year.[7]

Recruiting

On October 30, 2020, Houstan announced his commitment to playing college basketball for Michigan over offers from Alabama, Duke and Virginia. He was the No. 2 rated player in the state of Florida, and was ranked the No. 14 overall prospect in the nation according to 247Sports, and No. 4 power forward, becoming Michigan's highest-rated recruit in the modern recruiting era.[4] Michigan's 2021 recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the nation by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Caleb Houstan
SF / SG
Mississauga, Ontario Montverde Academy (FL) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Oct 30, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 8  247Sports: 14  ESPN: 8
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

On February 23, 2022, Houstan scored a career-high 21 points in a 71–62 win over Rutgers.[9] As a freshman, he averaged 10.1 points, four rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. Following the season, Houstan declared for the 2022 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[10] However, on June 1, 2022, he announced that he would remain in the draft and forego his remaining eligibility.[11]

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2022–present)

Houstan was drafted 32nd overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2022 NBA draft.[12][13] Houstan joined the Magic in the 2022 NBA Summer League. In his Summer League debut, he scored twenty points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field, including 5-for-9 from the three-point line.[14] On July 11, 2022, Houstan signed a rookie contract with the Magic.[15]

Houstan appeared as the first player off the bench in the season opener against the Detroit Pistons on October 19, but went scoreless with three rebounds and a blocked shot in 21:55.[16][17] He made his first career start in place of the injured Mo Bamba on November 28 in a game against the Brooklyn Nets, and recorded seven rebounds in 30:52.[17][18]

National team career

Houstan represented Canada at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Belém, Brazil. He started all six games, led Team Canada in scoring, and ranked second overall in the tournament, averaging 22.8 points while adding 5.3 rebounds, two assists, and 1.7 steals per game, and helped his team win the silver medal. In the semifinals against Dominican Republic, Houstan led Canada with 29 points, breaking the record for most points in a game by a Canadian at the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship.[19] Following his outstanding performance, Houstan was named to the All-Star Five as well as All-Tournament team.[20]

Houstan was scheduled to represent Canada at the 2020 U17 World Cup and U18 FIBA Americas Championship, however, both events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][21] Houstan represented Canada at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, where he averaged 17 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, to help lead his team to a bronze medal.[22][23]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Orlando 51 4 15.9 .363 .338 .833 1.9 .6 .2 .1 3.8
2023–24 Orlando 59 13 13.8 .388 .373 .808 1.4 .5 .3 .1 4.3
Career 110 17 14.8 .376 .359 .818 1.7 .5 .2 .1 4.1

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Michigan 34 34 32.0 .384 .355 .783 4.0 1.4 .7 .2 10.1

References

  1. ^ a b Givony, Jonathan (July 17, 2020). "Caleb Houstan, No. 3 recruit in 2022, reclassifies to 2021". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Kahn, Andrew (November 4, 2020). "Michigan commit Caleb Houstan scouting report: one of best shooters in country". MLive.com. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Wywrot, Tom (November 13, 2020). "Howard Signs Six to Early National Letters of Intent". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Hawkins, James (October 30, 2020). "Five-star Caleb Houstan, No. 8 in 2021 class, commits to Michigan". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Divens, Jordan (March 12, 2021). "High school basketball: No. 1 Montverde Academy defeats No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy 61-57 to win inaugural NIBC championship". MaxPreps. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  6. ^ Divens, Jordan (February 5, 2021). "High school basketball: No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy stuns No. 1 Montverde Academy, ends 44-game win streak". MaxPreps. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Sang, Orion (February 23, 2021). "Michigan basketball breaks McDonald's All-American game drought". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Hawkins, James (November 13, 2020). "'Welcome to the family': Michigan basketball signs top-ranked recruiting class". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "Michigan's men's basketball team defeats Rutgers in 1st game under associate head coach Phil Martelli". ESPN. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Budin, Lindsay (April 25, 2022). "Houstan joins Diabate, declares for NBA Draft". The Michigan Daily. michigandaily.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Kahn, Andrew (June 1, 2022). "Michigan's Caleb Houstan to stay in NBA draft". MLive.com. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  12. ^ Cohen, Michael (June 23, 2022). "NBA draft: Michigan basketball's Caleb Houstan picked by Orlando Magic in second round". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  13. ^ Savage, Dan (June 23, 2022). "Orlando Magic Select Caleb Houstan in Second Round (32nd overall) of 2022 NBA Draft". NBA.com. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  14. ^ "Houston Rockets vs Orlando Magic Jul 7, 2022 Box Scores | NBA.com". NBA.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  15. ^ "Orlando Magic Sign Caleb Houstan". NBA.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  16. ^ Cali, Mike (October 19, 2022). "Pistons 113, Magic 109: Paolo Banchero shines but Magic fall in season opener". SB Nation. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Caleb Houstan 2022-23 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  18. ^ Montiel, Sean (November 28, 2022). "Caleb Houstan starting for Magic Monday in place of injured Mo Bamba". numberFire. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  19. ^ "Caleb Houstan named to McDonald's All American team". basketball.ca. February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  20. ^ "USA claim FIBA U16 Americas 2019 title in Belem". FIBA. October 6, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  21. ^ "FIBA's Executive Committee confirms global calendar update". FIBA. April 9, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  22. ^ "Bediako, Edey, Houstan, Mathurin headline star-studded Canadian squad". FIBA. June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  23. ^ Wywrot, Tom (July 11, 2021). "Incoming Freshman Houstan Leads Canada to Bronze at FIBA U19 World Cup". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 11, 2021.

External links