For the Florida Gators, life without Colin Castleton is an odd thing to consider.
Sure, he wasn’t even a surefire starter when he came to Florida from Michigan in the 2020 offseason — he was thought of, back then, as potential competition for the center role with Omar Payne — and wasn’t really a fulcrum of the Gators’ offense until Keyontae Johnson’s fateful collapse. (Castleton, unbelievable as this now seems, did not score in double figures in any game he played with Johnson.)
But now, in early 2022, Castleton feels like both the face and the spine of the Gators, who have increasingly relied on him as the anchor of their offense and defense, his wizardry in the post and as a rim protector often making him the top of opponents’ scouting reports on both ends.