It would be a fun game to be sure and I think if those teams played 10 times you’d see a few wins either way. I think it would be high scoring because I don’t think DDJ/Bajema have any chance of defending Kobe/Jett…but I also don’t think we have any chance of defending Wilson.
I would love to pick the best 8 players from that whole list and see how we do this year.
Hard to imagine Frankie, DeJulius, and Wilson all sharing the ball. But Castleton can probably hang with Hunter and nobody on 22/23 Michigan can guard Wilson.
It’s really hard to run offense without a single competent guard
So I don’t know what the “ones that got away” team would do
They have more “play finishers” and arguably better ones I guess
It’s still wild to me that it took until Castleton’s fifth year of college before finally making a three. Wasn’t his recruiting profile that of a stretch four or at least the potential to become one?
Yeah his trajectory as a player has always been wild to me. When he was recruited I, and most I think, saw a future Beilein stretch big. Basically Wagner but taller. He was still developing the jumper but he could dribble real well. And then he never bothered shooting ever and developed a low post game.
I remember it being Wagner with shot blocking
I wonder how much influence his one year with Juwan had on that. In that first year Juwan focused on a post game for Teske, getting something out of Austin Davis, and locking up Hunter for his first real class. No doubt Castleton got more post coaching in that year than he did under Beilein. Did that help set him up for success at Florida and then their system/coaches continued to leverage that without the pick-and-pop ever becoming a thing? Or did he realize he just can’t really shoot like we thought and thus went away from that? Obviously there’s no answer we’ll ever know - but interesting to think about and happy for Colin that he’s had a successful career.
To be fair, I think our memories are flawed, or we wishcast a bit. I’m reading Dylan’s scout of him when he committed:
The only time the word “three” or the number “3” appears in the body of the text is for Dylan to say “he’s not making threes at that level (Grassroots basketball)”.
He does note a mid-range jumper he uses to pop out of the ball screen game, but most of his assets listed are finishing at the rim and defense (both which are evident in his college career)
He did it at his HS, which is mentioned. Dylan’ assessment appears to be fair. Mentioning he didn’t do those things in the summer so probably not fair to expect that immediately. But I do vividly remember watching his HS highlight tapes which I’m sure has stuck with me more than Dylan’s measured analysis
He was always more of a theoretical stretch big because of how he moved. I think the idea was also that any big would be a stretch big if they played for Beilein. But it isn’t like he was a volume three point shooter as a prospect IIRC.
Yeah during this talk I’ve been asking myself how much of his three point shooting future was based on our head coach being Beilein, and how much was his demonstrated skill.
Regardless, Juwan didn’t get him playing close-range, that was mostly what he was doing in AAU, it seems.
I remember this too. His HS highlight tape had me salivating. Obviously, the summer stuff is against better competition though so probably easier to project based on that.
I tried to find the old HS highlight videos, but it looks like they were removed from Hudl and YouTube. How unfortunate.
I’m impressed with his ability to score at all three levels. He’s good down low as you would expect. He does, after all, tower over his competition, but his mid range game is outstanding and his three point shot is very good and seemingly quite effortless. The AD said he thought it was around the rim that Colin would need the most development because of the strength factor.
Turns out the AD was not a college scout
Also appears that Dylan should get into the scouting biz
Lol precisely wrong
Shap liked his shooting stroke though!
Convinced this was a shared delusion (I shared it as well)
He took 2 3’s in his commitment video! 
They just said on the FLA/UK broadcast that Castleton leads Florida in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks this season. Wow…
Since Frankie showed up on my TV last night after I (and other sickos on this board) watched NW/OSU it seemed like a good time to check in on our former players:
- Frankie (ASU 17-8) - Continues to plug along as their primary PG about 30mpg. His 3pt shooting is decent at 34% on a couple of attempts per game. His 2pt is down under 45% so that’s not great, but it isn’t horrible. His assists (4.6) and turnovers (2.3) are mediocre. Overall he’s around 11ppg and I would say “steady” rather than good or bad.
- Johns (VCU 18-7) - He’s helped VCU to first in their conference and averages 28mpg as a starter. He still isn’t shooting threes (about 1 per game at 24%) but his other numbers are solid. He’s at 58% from 2pt and 77% from the stripe while averaging 12/5. He’s scored 20 points a couple of times but otherwise seems to be a solid but unspectacular starter - sounds like a good fit/role for him. I hope they make the tournament!
- Jackson (VCU 18-7) - He’s part of their rotation and getting 15-20mpg usually, but definitely among a crowded bench group of three 6-5/6-6 wings all fighting for minutes. His 2pt (51%) and FT (78%) are solid but he can’t hit threes (21% on 42 attempts). He’s about 5.5ppg with only three games in double figures.
- Bajema (UW 13-12) - He’s a full time starter averaging a whopping 32mpg. He doesn’t do a whole lot with those minutes (10ppg, 4.5rpg) but he seems to be a solid contributor. He’s shooting line is 49/38/88. I can’t comment on his defense from his stats page. Picture maybe a poor-man’s Duncan - takes about 7 shots a game, mostly threes, hits them at a solid rate, doesn’t do much else and probably doesn’t take as many shots as he should. Outside shot we could see them in the NIT I guess.
- Castleton (UF 13-11) - Another team scuffling along on the wrong side of the bubble, but not because of Colin. He’s having a fantastic season and leading the team in all statistical categories. He’s probably going to go dominate some foreign league for years to come. He’s averaging 16/8/3 for the counting stats and shooting 52% from 2pt and 74% from FT. He’s had 7 games over 20 points this season.
- DDJ (UC 16-9) - Once again a fringe bubble/NIT team and once again another former player who plays well over 30mpg. He’s having almost an identical season to last year as a 5th year senior with the exception of finally hitting 3s for the first time in his career (40%). He’s at 14.4ppg and 4.9apg. He’s matched Castleton with 7 games over 20 points.
- Wilson (KU 18-5) - The one team solidly in the tournament and the best of the bunch…even if he didn’t ever make it to campus. Career high in points (21.5), rebounds (8.6), 3pt (36%), FT (78%).
it just occurred to me - why is Wilson not in the league? surely he would’ve entered the draft years ago if he’d been here 