The consensus outlook on Michigan freshman forward
Caleb Houstan heading into Thursday's NBA Draft is that he will hear his name called late in the first round or early in the second. Should those projections come to fruition, he will become the fifth member of the 2019-20 national championship team at
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) to be drafted.
And there are more to come. A sophomore in 2019-20 and the MaxPreps National Player of the Year in 2021-22,
Dariq Whitehead is headed to Duke next season for what is likely a one-and-done college career.
Ryan Nembhard is returning to Creighton after averaging 11.3 points and 4.4 assists per game as a freshman and
Langston Love will be back on the floor at Baylor after tearing his ACL and missing his freshman campaign.
In his lone season at Michigan, Houstan averaged 10.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He was a MaxPreps All-American in 2020-21 after helping Montverde go 24-1 and earn national championship recognition once again.
One other former Montverde player – though not a member of the 2019-20 team – could be selected Thursday.
Andrew Nembhard had an outstanding showing at the NBA Draft Combine and may have played his way into the first round.
Back to that 2019-20 Montverde team quickly. Powered by MaxPreps National Player of the Year Cunningham and MaxPreps All-Americans Barnes, Moody and Sharpe, the Eagles went 25-0 and outscored opponents by an average margin of nearly 40 points per game. COVID cut the season short and wiped out GEICO Nationals, but there is no doubt this group will go down as one of the most talented in prep hoops history.
Caleb Houstan (22) could become the fifth player in this photo to be drafted, joining (left to right) Moses Moody (2), Scottie Barnes (11), Cade Cunningham (1) and Day'Ron Sharpe (23).
Photo: David Rosenblum
