Florida Basketball: Colin Castleton to return for 2022-2023 season
![Florida Gators forward Colin Castleton (12) slam dunks the ball in the second half. The Kentucky Wildcats won 71-63 over the Florida Gators Saturday afternoon, March 5, 2022 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2022Gai Uf Kentucky Basketball](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F54bab8bc6c505348d3f00d74c304a544c8b2170fbe2e28922ea56130523f23f4.jpg "Florida Gators forward Colin Castleton (12) slam dunks the ball in the second half. The Kentucky Wildcats won 71-63 over the Florida Gators Saturday afternoon, March 5, 2022 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2022Gai Uf Kentucky Basketball")
Florida basketball center Colin Castleton to return for the 2022-2023 season
A vital domino in the landscape of Florida basketball has fallen, and will hugely favor their chances in 2022 for a good season. This domino was none other than 6’11” center Colin Castleton stating that he will be returning to the Gators for the 2022 season, and will play his 5th season of college basketball. Rather than waving his eligibility for a 5th season, Castleton has decided to go for one last shot with Florida, and potentially improve upon his draft stock.
— Colin (@Castleton_) April 11, 2022
This is an absolutely enormous change to the Gators’ roster, as many believed he would forego this final year and enter the NBA Draft. However, the star center for the Gators has decided to ride it out for another year and see what new head coach Todd Golden can do. Colin Castleton led the Gators both in scoring and in rebounding for the 2021 season and was an absolutely vital piece to them even being able to compete with teams most games. On top of his offensive production, he really added to his inside defense and was able to show that he is not a liability on defense but rather a boon to success.
Huge block from Florida with a minute left
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2021
Colin Castleton was FIRED UP 🗣 pic.twitter.com/H4xtwgflDQ
In 2021, he put up some really quality stats across the board. His stat-sheet for the previous season was the following:
- 16.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.5 APG
- 2.2 BPG, 0.9 steals per game
- Advanced stats of: 2.8 offensive win shares, 1.7 defensive win shares, 28.8 PER, and a .583 true shooting %
- .546 FG%, 11.3 field goals attempted average, .703 FT%
While to the casual eye his normal stats (points, rebounds, assists) do not look that impressive, his ability to win on both offense and defense is unprecedented. Being able to not be a liability on either end of the floor is huge, and despite not being able to make the 3 ball, he makes up for it in his presence on the inside. Castleton returning will be massive for Todd Golden in an attempt to build Florida basketball up to glory for 2022.