According to sources close to the situation the worst fears of Florida basketball and fans alike has been confirmed and Colin Castleton’s broken hand is a season-ending injury.
Shortly after Wednesday’s game against Ole Miss was completed it was confirmed that Castleton suffered a broken hand, and since then it has been made known that the injury will end his season.
At this point of the season every game is essentially a must-win for the Gators, so to see Castleton removed from the Ole Miss game meant the move likely wasn’t a precaution.
This was a tweet sent by the Florida Basketball account, implying the end of Castleton’s season.
https://twitter.com/gatorsmbk/status/1626041930764124166?s=61&t=TYvB6xZ-_4W_qUZSVDK-eA
If you needed any more confirmation, here is a gut-wrenching tweet from Castleton himself.
https://twitter.com/castleton_/status/1626047351017115650?s=61&t=TYvB6xZ-_4W_qUZSVDK-eA
Even more heartbreaking, this doesn’t just end Castleton’s season but his career as a Gator.
Entering the season Castleton was seen as a player who could push for All-American status and SEC player of the year and he had a number of those performances throughout the season. According to analytics tool KenPom, Castleton was the game MVP 12 times this season, the 8th most in all of college basketball.
Before the season started Colin Castleton made a guarantee that the Gators would make the NCAA Tournament and he played every game this season like he was going to will it to happen. While things haven’t gone well for the Gators as a whole, Castleton is somewhat who has kept up his side of the bargain and played outstanding basketball on both sides of the ball as Florida’s unquestioned leader.
With aspirations of playing NBA basketball, Castleton will work on recovery and rehab in time to work out for teams in the summer. There is no timeline known at the moment for his recovery, but it’s not the type of injury a player, particularly a big man who needs to be extremely strong with the basketball in his hands, wants to rush back from.
With Castleton gone the Gators will turn to Jason Jitoboh to shoulder a chunk of the minutes at center. CJ Felder is also back with the team and he could provide some production at the center spot, though he hasn’t seen game action in weeks.
Castleton has had a truly incredible career as a Gator and he left everything he had on the floor to try to will the team to as many victories as possible. We wish him a full recovery and will cheer him on wherever his basketball career takes him next.