Florida basketball: Colin Castleton suffers broken hand

Florida basketball got a win tonight, but it came with a price. All season, Colin Castleton was the heart and soul of the team and the only reason that they were still afloat in the NCAA Tournament conversations.

In the Gators’ game against Ole Miss, Castleton broke his right hand and will be out for the rest of the season.

There really isn’t a better way to contextualize how big of a loss this is for the Gators than saying that losing Colin just about ends the season for the Gators.

This season he was scoring 16.5 points per game, grabbing 7.9 rebounds, and blocking three shots. He was one of the best interior defenders in the country and could score on just about anybody.

In the four games prior to tonight, Colin scored 20, 25, 29, and 25, trying to will the Gators to win all by himself.

Perhaps more so than his production, the Gators will miss his leadership on the court. He was always the loudest, most confident guy on the floor, and let the other team know when he had his way down low.

Other teams hated him for it, which made it that much better.

Since transferring from Michigan, Castleton has been a staple in the Gator offense. Just about every possession saw him touch the ball, and his combination of scoring and passing ability made him near impossible to guard.

You just have to feel for Castleton. He put all he had into every game he played, and nobody wanted to be out on the floor more than he did.

We hope Colin Castleton has a speedy and full recovery, and hopefully, he is able to have a presence at practice and on the bench at games to try and fire his team up to finish the year strong.

Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.