MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — With London-native, and top-ranked prospect of the 2022 class, Shaedon Sharpe recently committing to Calipari’s coveted Kentucky squad, there’s no denying the presence of Canadian basketball in the NCAA. While we will have to wait a year before seeing Sharpe don the iconic ‘Kentucky Blue’, there’s another exceptional Canadian set to make his college debut this upcoming season; Caleb Houstan.

Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, the 18-year-old carries tremendous physical gifts with a 6’8”, 205-pound frame, as well as ridiculous shooting range, and incredibly reliable handles. The dead-eye scoring machine started playing basketball from an early age, but his family realized that for Caleb to reach his potential, they would need to put him in the best position to do so. So, to help Houstan chase his dream of playing professional basketball, he and his family packed up, and moved down to Montverde, Florida right before he entered high school. Which is where Houstan would go on to join the basketball-factory; Montverde Academy, and watch his game grow exponentially.

During his first 3 years at the esteemed Montverde Academy, he helped lead the Eagles to a 22-3 record and a semifinal appearance at the prep national championship as a freshman. Only to follow this up with a remarkable sophomore campaign in which he averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting over 53% from deep. Helping lead the Eagles to a perfect 25-0 record, and No.1 overall ranking in the country, before the season got cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the season being cut short, Montverde was declared the official 2019-20 prep national champions, and Caleb Houstan became the only non-senior to start on the roster. Which included elite NBA prospects like Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Moses Moody, and Day’Ron Sharpe.

In Houstan’s junior year with the decorated prep school, he helped lead the Eagles to a 21-1 record, and a No.1 seed in the inaugural NIBC tournament, which Montverde ended up winning. The Florida-based academy also carried the longest-ever win streak in high school basketball history with 44 games, before a crushing overtime defeat to Sunrise Christian Academy in early February 2021. Though, even still, Caleb Houston managed to lead Montverde in the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Following the end of the 2021 season, Houstan decided to forgo his final year at academy, and graduate early. A decision that would effectively make him eligible for the 2022 NBA draft. By the end of the year, Houstan was named to the Jordan Brand Classic, as well as the McDonald All-American Boys Game, making him the first Michigan signee to earn the distinction since Daniel Horton in 2002. Though both events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, he was slated to play in the Nike EYBL AAU circuit with team UPlay Canada as well as the Canadian national team for both the 2020 U17 World Cup and U18 FIBA Americas Championship. But both of these events were also postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though UPlay CEO and founder, Dwayne Washington has been working with Houstan throughout the pandemic, and spoke a while back on Caleb’s talent. Profoundly stating how people would’ve been blown away by his development had these events not been cancelled.

Even Montverde Academy’s coach, Kevin Boyle, who’s coached R.J. Barrett and other top Canadian prospects and NBA recruits since 2011, explained how Houstan reminds him of a certain Milwaukee Bucks’ star:

“He reminds me a lot of Middleton and I don’t think there’s a question he’s going to be a pro… I think he’s going to be a very good pro because he’s tailor-made for today’s NBA. He’s probably the best high school shooter in America… I think he shot 53 or 54% from three last year and that’s every single day for the last two years. He’s just an incredible, incredible shooter, and when he’s open you feel like it’s going in. He’s got good range. He’s good shooting off screens and off of movement. He’s capable of being a big-time shooter and a guy you can run off screens to get good shots. He’s also an incredible worker.”

Luckily, Caleb was able to show off some of his scoring prowess by representing Canada at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup this year. In which he averaged 17 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 steals through 7 games. Helping to lead Canada to a massive 101-92 bronze medal victory over Serbia in the final series.

As expected, Caleb had a variety of the nation’s top programs vying for his talents coming into the summer. What came as more of a surprise was his decision to join the team from Ann Arbor. He was a consensus 5-star recruit and one of the highest ranked players in the 2021 class before officially committing to the Wolverines on October 30th, 2020. Turning down major offers from competitive programs like Alabama, Virginia, and Duke in the process. So, what made Caleb make this decision you might ask? Well, Houstan stated afterwards how Juwan Howard’s track record as an NBA player and assistant coach was a major factor in his decision;

“Coach Howard was a big part of my decision, his background and our relationship… He played in the NBA for 19 years and knows what it takes to get there and stay there. I think he can help me both on and off the court and in preparing to get to the next level. I know he’s going to push me every single day in order for me to get better and develop as a player.”

Michigan enters the 2021-22 season with high hopes after a series of successful runs in recent years. Including just a season ago, when the top-seeded Wolverines made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, before getting bounced by a disciplined UCLA squad.

Houstan will likely play a significant role for Michigan, especially since his style of play is very similar to that of fellow-Wolverine, Isaiah Livers, who now plays for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. Caleb carries an exceptionally-high basketball IQ for a player his age, and has the physical profile, and competitive edge to become a star at the next level. So, he appears set to take over the NCAA with a Michigan bunch who, yet again, should be in contention for a national championship.

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