By JACOB POLACHECK
Caleb Houstan, the 6-foot-8 forward from Montverde (FL) Academy and the UPlay Canada AAU team, hopes to make a decision sometime in November after naming Virginia, Duke, Michigan and Alabama as his final four schools.
2021 SG Caleb Houstan tells me his goal is to make a decision before the start of his HS season in late November.
— Jason Jordan (@JasonJordanSI) October 18, 2020
Duke, Michigan, Alabama and Virginia all contending.
His blog drops this week.
Houstan cut Gonzaga, Michigan State, Oregon, Arizona, Seton Hall, Maryland, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas Tech, North Carolina, Texas and Arkansas from his previous list.
After reclassifying from the Class of 2022 in July, Houstan is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 2 power forward and No. 9 overall prospect in the Class of 2021.
Houstan, who turned 17 in January, plans to attend college in 2021 and then potentially enter the 2022 NBA Draft.
Several other Canadian stars reclassed in prior years, including Anthony Bennett, Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray and R.J. Barrett.
“It’s not necessarily getting to the NBA earlier,” his father David told ZAGSBLOG in July. “I think that that can be a mistake in many cases. It’s really a case of what he wants to accomplish, what he’s looking to do, what the opportunity is, and how he’s doing in school.
“If he’s doing really well in school, if he’s having success, maybe he makes that decision. If there’s an opportunity at a school he really likes [ and wants to stay longer], maybe he does that. But at the same time he is academically available to go in 2021.”
Montverde coach Kevin Boyle, who has coached Barrett and five other top-three NBA picks since 2011, said Houstan reminds him of Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks.
“He reminds me a lot of Middleton and I don’t think there’s a question he’s going to be a pro,” Boyle said by phone. “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 percent 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.”
This post has been updated.
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