Where Diabate and Houstan are on current mock drafts
So I've been looking at as many mock drafts as possible lately to see where Diabate and Houstan are projected, if at all. Unfortunately most mock draft sites are still only projecting the first round and not the second yet. I was able to look at 4 mock drafts that are publicly available and somewhat credible: The Athletic, Bleacher Report, USA Today, and NBAdraft.net. I don't have access to ESPN Insider nor do I subscribe to NBABigBoard but I do know they have the full second round projected if anyone has access to either of them.
So far of the 15+ 1st round mock drafts I looked at Diabate and Houstan didn't appear on any of them. Of the 4 that project the second round they only appeared on 1, The Athletic. For that one Diabate is projected at 51 and Houstan is projected 54. I would expect a lot of updates after the Chicago combine and hopefully sites like CBS and The Ringer will have the 2nd round projected by then.
I'll update at the end of the month when hopefully we have 10+ full mock drafts to look to see where they are projected then.
I'm pulling most of my mock drafts from the following link: https://eatdrinkandsleepfootball.com/draft/mock-draft-database/nba.html
If anyone has seen them on other mock drafts I missed I'd love to know where in the comments.
My useless prediction:
1) Diabate - likely late 1st or early 2nd if he tests well
2) Houstan - late second to undrafted
I don't expect either back regardless though.
Who else is Michigan targeting in the portal with (likely) 2 open spots?
Both are projects and unless a team is early in their rebuild and foresee being non-competitive for a couple more years, not likely to be on such teams' radars. They won't be drafted by any team that needs/wants immediate help. Most coaches won't want to risk the potential damage to their own coaching contract, while some GMs might be a little more willing and able to wait out their development.
Both late second-rounders if at all.
ESPN has a 2 round mock draft ($) from May 7 that has neither Diabate nor Houstan on it.
You're aware you're looking at and linking a WAY TOO EARLY 2023 mock draft right?
For what it's worth, neither Diabate nor Houstan are on the latest 2022 ESPN (Givony) Mock from April 25, either.
LINK ($)
You meld the two together and they are a lottery pick. Apart, they are 2/5 of Michigans starting lineup for 2023.
Houstan is not on the NBA combine participation list. Hmm.
So the combine list was released and guess who isn't in it? Yeah, Caleb.
2022 NBA Draft Combine (May 16-22) participants revealed: pic.twitter.com/BG3rxOE0sE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 11, 2022
For what it's worth, I'm also not reporting.
Wooo....that's interesting.
Draft boards are stressful. Maybe he's just tired of being mocked.
Well said, you cheeky bastard.
Interested to see where they go to.
Here’s a mock draft: they are both gone.
I understand the paycheck aspect of it but why wouldn't guys like Houstan and Diabate want to come back for another year of improvement? The paycheck has the potential to double if they improve. The attrition in college basketball is amazing. Do these kids just not want to work? Just seems so illogical to me. You'd think another year of being big man on campus and talked about country wide would be more appealing than being an afterthought for the next bunch of years and possibly never mentioned again. I know $$ talks but the reward could be so much greater another year from now.