Hunter Dickinson announces decision on basketball future
The Michigan basketball offseason revolved around its trio of Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate making decisions on their futures. At least one call has been made ahead of the April 24 NBA Draft deadline.
Dickinson announced on Sunday evening he would return for his junior season.
Dickinson was a force for Michigan in 2021-22, averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Wolverines this season.
Dickinson took some time off at the end of the season to wind down and refocus heading into his decision. He took in a Detroit Tigers game on April 11 and spoke about his process.
“After the season, I took two weeks off of basketball, not worrying about anything,” Dickinson said. “I’ve just started getting back to basketball, thinking about it. I haven’t made a decision yet but I plan on making one relatively soon.”
Michigan is still waiting for decisions on others. Houstan and Diabate are next in line.
Houstan, who was a five-star signee and No. 10 prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, started every game at Michigan this season. He averaged 10.1 points, four rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Houstan shot 38.4% from the field with a 35.5% mark from three-point range. He came into the season as a potential NBA lottery pick but did not appear on draft boards at year’s end.
Diabate was Michigan’s other five-star addition in 2021 and started 26 of 32 games for the Wolverines. He averaged nine points and six rebounds per game while shooting 52.4% from the floor. Like Houstan, Diabate was also considered a potential lottery prospect. He is not present on prospect boards as of this posting.
How Michigan is viewed nationally ahead of season
National pundits were quick to put Michigan near the top of some Way Too Early Top 25 lists at season’s end. CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish considers them the favorites in the Big Ten for 2022-23.
“The Wolverines’ ranking is based on a returning core of Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, each of whom is a nice college player but nothing resembling a sure-fire first-round pick,” he said. “For that reason, I’ll assume for now that they’re all back at Michigan, which could then be the favorite in the Big Ten.”
There is still plenty to sort out this offseason, but Michigan appears to be staying in the hunt at the top of the Big Ten. They also considered the frontrunner for Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr., who was on campus this week.
This story is developing.
