Recruiting Report: Colin Castleton (2018)

2018 center Colin Castleton arrived this past season. A 6'10", 210-pound rising senior at Father Lopez has racked up 15 offers since the beginning of last summer. Four offers came this week already from Clemson, FGCU, South Alabama and Illinois. Castleton also has offers on the table from Rutgers, USF, UAB, Charlotte, Samford, North Florida, Stetson, James Madison, Robert Morris, Georgia Southern and Lousiana-Lafayette. He talked about Father Lopez's 7-16 season a year ago in Class 7A, something he called up and down. He led the Orlando area with 134 blocks which averaged out to 5.4 per game. That ranked him just ahead of First Academy's Malik William.

"I try to make it a positive and look for the good in it even though it may not have ended the way I would have wanted it to," Castleton told Prep Hoops Florida. "My coach [Eddie Miller] and I have a special relationship that I don't have with anyone else and that's why I like Lopez so much. "I got to do most of the work for high school and be the main scorer which is good but I also learned and grew as a leader, which will help my game at the next level."

Castleton is running with Nike South Beach this summer. He says he loves playing with them because he feels that it is the best competition in the state and that he battles every time he plays on the circuit.

"My main focus this summer is getting in the weight room and getting my body physically stronger, on top of working on my overall game so I can come back stronger and play better than I did this year," he said. "My goal for playing with Nike South Beach will be to get as much exposure as I can and I feel like I'm in the right position to do so."

For Castleton, he started playing basketball in 6th grade but says it was more for fun than anything else. When he arrived at Father Lopez as a freshman that's when he says he started to take the game seriously. He has been a starter the last two seasons for the Green Wave. He aims to be a matchup problem for every team he faces.

"I feel like my biggest strengths in my game are being a big man who can stretch the floor and try to bring big guys out of the paint so I can open everything up for my teammates," Castleton said.

He wants to improve everything in his game, not just one particular attribute.

"I'll be working on every skill set this summer from ball handling to shooting to quickness and agility," he said.

Castleton has really come into his own. Already a lockdown defender with his long arms and blocking ability, he had some big games as a scorer this season. He dropped 36 against Suncoast and 29 against Mainland. Look for Castleton to have a huge summer with Nike South Beach and an even bigger senior season for the Green Wave. Photo credit: Orlando Sentinel