5-Star SF Prospect Caleb Houstan Commits to Michigan over Duke

Highly touted power forward Caleb Houstan has committed to Michigan.

"I was down to four great schools, but one definitely stood out to me the most—I decided to commit to Coach Juwan Howard and the University of Michigan," he confirmed to ESPN's Jonathan Givony. "I was recruited by a lot of great schools, and I appreciate all the time they all spent with me and my family."

Houstan is the second-best power forward and eighth-best player overall in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

The Montverde Academy star was originally slated to arrive in 2022 but decided to graduate from high school early to reclassify for 2021.

"I feel like I'm ready to take the next step," he told Givony in July. "Being at Montverde and playing for Team Canada at the FIBA level has helped prepare me for that. The best decision for me is to go to college in 2021. That will help me get to next level and eventually where I want to go, which is the NBA."

As Houstan outlined, he already has some international experience after representing Canada in the 2018 U17 World Cup and 2019 U16 Americas Championship. He was particularly good in the latter, where Canada made a run to the final before losing to the United States.

He was the tournament's second-leading scorer (22.8 points) behind Jean Montero of the Dominican Republic. He finished with 25 points in the championship game, accounting for almost a third of Team Canada's total output (77 points).

A slightly deeper dive into the Americas Championship provides a general picture as to Houstan's game. He averaged 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44.0 percent and going 12-of-37 from beyond the arc. The 6'8", 205-pound forward isn't afraid of firing up from deep, especially in catch-and-shoot situations.

With the news the prep star was reclassifying, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman tweeted that he had watched some film on Houstan: "Advanced shooter for age/size, + defensive tools, plays with balance/control. Not explosive athletically or super creative yet."

In a prior era, Houstan's frame would likely limit him to small forward since he'd get bullied inside by bigger power forwards. Instead, he's perfectly suited to serve as a stretch 4.

He should make an immediate impact in Michigan's frontcourt.

Given the timing of John Beilein's departure, Juwan Howard had an almost impossible task of immediately bringing the kind of success the Wolverines enjoyed under his predecessor. A 19-12 finish showed the work Howard had ahead of him.

Michigan assembled a solid 2020 class, signing Hunter Dickinson, Zeb Jackson, Terrance Williams and Howard's son Jace. The momentum is continuing into 2021 as Houstan joins Frankie Collins, Kobe Bufkin and Isaiah Barnes.