Colin Castleton’s Proven Production A Sure Thing Entering The Season

There is a lot of excitement over new faces that Todd Golden has brought to Gainesville since coming to town but none are overshadowing the spotlight on Florida’s cornerstone returning player Colin Castleton.

While friendly debates among fans and media go on about who will start at shooting guard, which wing will command the most minutes, and who will end up being the most impactful power forward, there is nothing to argue when it comes to the center position and Colin Castleton.

In a college basketball landscape that is currently dominated by the big man, Castleton is right there with a seat at the head table. He was recently named to the watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award for the best center in college basketball, and scrolling the list of names you see players that Castleton has competed with and produced similar numbers to. 

Could Colin Castleton end the season as the top center in college basketball? It will be difficult with the presence of established bigs such as returning player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, Armando Bacot, Hunter Dickinson, and Zach Edey, and there are some incoming one-and-done lottery picks such as Kel’El Ware (Oregon), Dereck Lively (Duke), and Adem Bona (UCLA) who will also compete for the title. 

Even if Castleton doesn’t end up at the top of that list, you know he’s going to be in the conversation all year long and that speaks to the work he has done since being a bench player at Michigan who struggled to see the floor behind established veterans. 

Of all the positive traits Castleton brings, his number one skill could be his consistency. Castleton averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds last year, and he didn’t do it by having a couple smash games where he put up ridiculous numbers and boosted his totals, he did it by being a reliable everyday guy who always competed with the same level of intensity. In 28 games last season, he had double digit scoring in 27 of those games (with 9 points in the one game he didn’t). He never had less than 5 rebounds in a game. He got to the free throw line in every single game. Despite battling injuries and playing a position where it’s easy to get into foul trouble, he never played less than 21 minutes a game (that was against Troy–a blowout).

You know exactly what to expect from Castleton and that makes it easy to pencil him in for a near double-double this season.

The question now is this–what kind of leap can he make in year five?

Considering his dominance in the SEC over two years, many are expecting him to take another step and push to average 20 and 10 in what would be one of the best seasons for a Gator individual in a very long time.

Is that possible? Yes. 

However, people may need to temper their expectations a bit. Looking across the landscape of college basketball, it’s rare to see huge leaps from years four to five–even though for whatever reason people seem to still expect them. 

By the time a player turns 22, like Castleton, his college game is pretty well established. That isn’t to say Castleton can’t still improve, of course he can, but looking at players who are able to play a fifth year over the last several seasons in college basketball, that final year looks a lot like the year before.

A perfect example happened in Gainesville with Kerry Blackshear who came to the Gators as a graduate transfer, arguably the most sought-after player on the transfer market in the country. There was massive fanfare leading to the Gators being the preseason Final Four pick for many. 

And he was…good. Really good. In fact, he was the identical player he was in his final year at Virginia Tech. That was no failure of his–he is just another player in a long line of fifth year transfers who show that there often isn’t a huge leap to be made between years four and five.

Luckily for the Gators, if Castleton is the identical player to last year then they have an All-SEC talent who is going to win them a ton of games. Even if there is very little improvement, Castleton will be awesome, be a winner, and be a fan favorite. 

Clearly though, he is looking for much more. Every offseason he has grinded in the gym trying to improve the jumpshot, arguably the biggest hole in his game, which is something that would better his NBA stock infinitely if implemented. Coach Todd Golden has happily supported him in this journey, suggesting many times that Castleton will have the green light to bomb away.

Castleton is yet to make a three-pointer in his college career, though he does have favorable free throw numbers for a center (73% on his career) and there have been studies that suggest free throw numbers can be an indication of future three-point success.

What could also help Castleton’s production this year is the insertion of some new point guards, particularly Trey Bonham who was one of the best pick and roll players in the country last season at VMI. Florida has a couple of solid pick and roll players to pair with Castleton over the last two seasons, but no great ones. Pairing Castleton with Bonham in the pick and roll could mean some easy buckets that Castleton wasn’t able to get in recent seasons, whether that’s dunks at the rim or pick and pop jumpers if Castleton is able to add that shot to his arsenal. 

Another question regarding Castleton’s production will be how much he is posting up in Golden’s offense versus how much he’s more on the perimeter or in this post as a facilitator. Most of Castleton’s career production has been as a post up player who also feasts on the offensive glass, but that might not be the exact position he plays this season. Golden prefers having his centers, particularly elite ones like Castleton, catching the ball in the high post or even behind the three-point line and becoming a playmaker–of course with the opportunity to still shoot or drive downhill.

Castleton has been good in face-up situations and his improved ball handling has made him a tough cover for some of the more bruising bigs in the SEC who would much rather bang down low with Castleton than try to guard him off the dribble. The new offense could mean different shots for Castleton, and perhaps more assists. To this point in his career Castleton hasn’t been in much of a position to facilitate with his passing ability, but that will certainly change this year.

Having a sure thing like Castleton is an exciting proposition entering a new season, particularly with a new coaching staff and a bunch of new players. While there is some uncertainty with just how these new pieces will perform, Castleton is as reliable as it gets. We have seen in recent years that experience wins in college basketball and Castleton’s experience and production will be exactly what the Gators need when the season tips off on Monday.