A two-time All-SEC and All-SEC Defense after transferring from Michigan in 2020, Colin Castleton lived up to being a top 10 recruit from back in 2018. As a fifth year senior Castleton averaged 16 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.9 SPG, 3 BPG, and 2.5 TOPG on splits of 50/13/73. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Colin Castleton
Height/Weight: 6’11/234
Wingspan/ standing reach: 7’3.5/9’2.5
Hand size: 10
Position: C
Pre-Draft team: Florida
Tools: Shot blocking
Pros:
- Excellent shot blocker
- Can recover decently well on drives/switches
- Free throw percentage indicates a chance at shooting upside
- Improved passer as a senior; keeps floor vision against pressure; good post passer
- Good rebounder
- Able to hold his own in isolation
Cons:
- Limited scorer
- Lacks explosive athleticism
- Allows defenses to force ball pickups too easily at times as a ball-handler
- Can be a bit slow to recognize open teammates as a passer
Summary:
Colin Castleton is a bit of an old fashioned big man, playing mostly within 15 feet offensively, with shot-blocking prowess and some ability to hold his own on isolation switches. Castleton is likely to play a role as an energy big deep off the bench with dunks, blocks, and rebounds.
While Colin Castleton has shown a jump in passing, he will need to get quicker in recognizing cutters and open teammates to have this ability translate up to the NBA. He often pauses before making his pass and after recognizing the window to get the ball to his teammate, and in the NBA that will not work in avoiding turnovers.
Defensively, Castleton is able to stay with slashers without losing much, if any, ground. His ability to hold his own on an island against slashers will be big; being able to defend the unpredictability of ball-handlers in the NBA that could equally go to the rim or stepback on a big will be the challenge Castleton has to prove he can win to survive NBA defenses.
Castleton’s rim protection is valuable, and if that can translate without him getting into foul trouble from his over-usage of his hands, he should be able to stick given his perimeter ability. Offensively, if he can simply be a P&R threat and play finisher, he should be able to stick in the NBA as an end of bench emergency big man to provide an energy shift.
Similar to: Jeff Withey, Cody Zeller lite, Hilton Armstrong
Projected draft range: Undrafted
Expected role: Backup energy big man.
Unplayable if: Defense doesn’t cleanly translate or offensive skill gap minimizes his shot blocking & defense.
Exceeds expectations if: He develops a jump shot, or becomes a stable defensive center in all aspects.
Videos:
Shot Chart:
