Youssef Khayat Is A Wolverine
When Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate decided to remain in the NBA Draft, it opened up two roster spots for Juwan Howard to try to fill. Michigan first picked up a pledge from Duke transfer Joey Baker, leaving one spot open, which was filled earlier today by 19-year old Lebanon native Youssef Khayat.
He's obviously got good length at 6-8 and is reported to have a wingspan two inches larger than his height. When you watch him run up and down the court and finish above the rim, you can tell that he's got plenty of size for the 2 or 3 spot and could probably play the 4 in a pinch. He's a bit thin, but for a 19-year old he looks really good physically.
While he does have good length, he's not huge and isn't always interested in finishing over or through big men. Luckily, he has really good touch around the rim. He has a great float game and a soft baby hook, which come in really handy in traffic. He's a plus-athlete, but is not elite, so that touch and understanding of how to finish over bigger players while going to the rim is extremely important.
He also has a very clean and repeatable stroke. He's not necessarily labeled as a sniper from the outside, but you can tell that he can knock down outside jumpers with consistency and should be able to get his shot off regularly because of his length. In 32 games last year in the U21 league, he went 56-of-158 (35%) from distance. That comes out to him shooting around five three-balls per game. Again, he's not going to be the best shooter in the country, but he's definitely good enough to be a weapon from deep.
Finally, and maybe most impressively, is how decisive he is. When you watch the highlights below, you can tell that when he makes up his mind about a move or a particular finish, he's going all out to make it work. Whether it's when he turns the corner around a high ball screen or if he's finishing at the rim, he does it NOW. That's a very important and useful skill for a young, 19-year old player who happens to be blessed with his length and ability. Not to throw Houstan under the bus, but that's what he seemed to lack far too often this past season.
