Florida’s crazy Sunday that started with Andrew Nembhard and Tre Mann declaring for the draft ended with some exciting news as 6’10” center Colin Castleton announced that he would be transferring to the Gators. The sophomore from Daytona Beach, Florida spent his first two years at Michigan before announcing his intent to leave, and Gainesville is a fitting spot for him to end up. Coming out of high school as the 128th ranked recruit in the class of 2018 Castleton was recruited heavily by Florida who was one of his final schools but scholarship uncertainty made a marriage between the two unlikely but now it looks like it may have been meant to be.
Castleton was seldom-used this past season at Michigan only at only 7.9 minutes per game where he averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds, and impressively he was able to get 0.5 blocks per game in that limited role as well. He was a “Did Not Play—Coach’s Decision” on a few nights as well, something that was also the case in his freshman year where he only played 3.5 minutes per game. It’s worth noting that this wasn’t due to him not being ready to contribute at the high major level, it just so happens that he was playing behind one of the best centers in the country in the last two seasons in Jon Teske as well as a senior in Austin Davis this past season. He also entered college at only 195 pounds which hurt his ability to make an impact as a freshman, though he’s now listed at 235 pounds, though that may be a generous listing.
Considering that Michigan is graduating two centers the pathway for him to get minutes was certainly there so his decision went beyond just playing time. He committed to John Beilein who left before last season so he wouldn’t be playing for the staff he committed to, and obviously coming to Florida means he’ll be close to home.
As it currently stands he’s a sit-one-play-two though there is a lot of confidence throughout the college hoops world that the one time transfer rule will be put in effect allowing for Castleton to be instantly eligible. If that were the case he’d add another option to Florida’s center position, but it’s worth noting that even though he’s a junior next season it’s not prototypical. In his two years at Michigan he only played a grand total of 264 minutes, which is significantly less than Omar Payne who played 454 minutes last year.
Castleton is a player with nice hands and a good feel for the offensive side of the game, and even in a limited college sample size he has shown a great ability to protect the rim. At 6’10” and 235 pounds he’s agile and has some of the fluidity big men need to possess to be able to switch out onto guards at times, something that would have made him extremely enticing to Florida’s coaching staff. The Gators lacked a mobile center last year that could fit within the staff’s aggressive defensive scheme and in Castleton they certainly see a player that can fill that role.
The Gators were up to their max in scholarships before landing Castleton and his announcement means that someone is leaving to make space. Andrew Nembhard would be the likely guess as he entered the NBA Draft and signed with an agent, but there is always a chance someone else could be moving on.
Castleton profiles like a mobile big that Florida’s coaching staff has desired and landing him gives the Gators depth whether it’s next year if the instantly eligible transfer goes through or in 2021-22 if he takes a redshirt season.