Youssef Khayat helps Lebanon advance to FIBA Asia Cup semifinals

If you follow the Instagram or Twitter pages of the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team, you know the 2022-23 squad has already started practicing at the Crisler Center, trying to form chemistry months before the season starts.

One member of that team has not made it to practice yet, as 2022 commit Youssef Khayat has helped Lebanon advance to the semifinals in the FIBA Asia Cup.

In the 72-69 quarterfinal win against China, Khayat came off the bench and struggled with foul trouble, committing four fouls in total with no points, one rebound and one steal.

Through the first three games of the Asia Cup, Khayat averaged 9.7 points, three rebounds and one assist per game. His best game came in a 41-point blowout win over India, where he shot 6-for-11 from the field and racked up 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, including this nice one below.

While those counting stats don’t exactly jump off the page, they’re a little more impressive when you consider the fact he’s a 19-year-old playing against grown men. As Andrew Kahn of MLive pointed out, aside from Khayat, the youngest Lebanese player is 23. The oldest on the team is 32, and the average age of his teammates is 27. The average age of Lebanon’s first three opponents was 23, 23, and 24, respectively.

Khayat is great at jumping passes and does a great job coming off screens and firing off a quick three-pointer. With his active hands on defense and ability to convert and-ones and clutch buckets in transition, he could be a key bench contributor like Chaundee Brown was a few years ago.

The Wolverines are getting a versatile forward who should be able to make a few threes and be a great secondary creator off pick-and-rolls. I could see Khayat playing a bit at the 3 and splitting time at the 4 with Terrance Williams and Will Tschetter. He’s a lanky forward with a nice three-point stroke, a high basketball IQ and a great ability to finish near the rim.

Khayat rounds out a talented 2022 Michigan class that includes big man Tarris Reed (ranked 34th nationally), sharpshooting wing Jett Howard (40th), point guard Dug McDaniel (79th) and forward Gregg Glenn (117th).