Questions We're Asking About Michigan Hoops With Colin Castleton Transferring
What does the Castleton (and David DeJulius') decisions mean for the potential additions to the roster?
Essentially, what everyone wants to know is if DeJulius and Castleton both decided to transfer because they were told (or at least felt strongly) that five-stars Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd will be signing letters of intent next week and will be on the Michigan roster in 2020-21.
If that is the case, it is understandable for both DeJulius - a point guard, but at his core, a scorer that may not see many opportunities with the arrival of Christopher - and Castleton, a '4/5' at a crowded position that includes fifth-year senior Austin Davis, senior Isaiah Livers, junior Brandon Johns Jr., freshman Todd and freshman Hunter Dickinson, to seek playing time elsewhere.
There have been rumblings that the Todd camp is still pursuing other options, whether that means college programs or a chance to play professional overseas or in the NBA 'G' League domestically. Michigan fans are hoping, however, that Castleton's decision to leave a week before the spring signing period is an indication that Todd will, in fact, be inking a letter of intent.
Likewise, there's probably not room for DeJulius and Christopher on the 2020-21 roster, not with senior Eli Brooks, Livers, sophomore Franz Wagner, Todd, and others. Christopher has long been considered a Maize and Blue lean by recruiting experts, and while Arizona State is in play, the expectation is he will announce and sign with Michigan next week. Again, there is a strong possibility DeJulius was told this by the coaches and that is the reason he has opted to transfer.
Add in the news Wednesday that Jace Howard will indeed be a walk-on and Michigan suddenly has maximum roster flexibility, having 11 committed scholarships for 2020-21 (including Todd) with Christopher set to announce and the possibility of adding a grad-transfer to the mix (ideally a point guard).
What no one knows for sure, but for which we'll learn shortly is whether DeJulius and Castleton exited Ann Arbor directly because Todd and Christopher were coming or if their decisions were wholly independent of the five-stars'.
What is Michigan losing with the departure of Castleton?
We wrote extensively about DeJulius April 6 when he made his decision. Castleton's departure comes as no surprise, as the second-year big man was a forgotten man in the Michigan rotation, seeing his minutes drop by more than 50% (3.5 per game as a sophomore) from his rookie season (7.9 minutes per game).
Castleton was a DNP (coach's decision "did not play) in six of U-M's contests this past year and the writing was completely on the wall in late February:
Castleton was summoned from the bench as Johns found himself in foul trouble and Livers was out with an injury at Rutgers Feb. 19. The sophomore acquitted himself well, scoring five points, grabbing three rebounds, recording a block in 10 minutes of action, helping Michigan to a 60-52 win. However the Daytona Beach, Fla., native didn't see the floor for even one second in the following two games.
As Davis flourished under first-year coach Juwan Howard, Castleton floundered. Perhaps not physically strong enough to play the '5' and not versatile enough to play the '4' when it was also manned by Livers and Johns, Castleton was simply the odd-man out for the Wolverines this past season.
Would his role have changed in the future? It's possible. He probably could use a redshirt, though Howard will always be recruiting top-tier talent to Ann Arbor and a year off may not unclog the '4' and '5' at all.
As for Castleton's skill set and what Michigan loses - there were always flashes he could be a low-post offensive threat, similar to what Davis displayed in 2019-20, and Castleton was a good shooter (he made 82.8% of his 29 free throws this season) but he wasn't a player that could put the ball on the floor and create a shot for himself outside a four- to six-feet from the rim, limiting his range and opportunity on a team that will use Davis and Dickinson at the '5' next year.
Is this the new norm for Michigan basketball?
Well, it's kind of already been the norm. Under John Beilein, Michigan experienced transfer exits from Ricky Doyle, Aubrey Dawkins, Kam Chatman and others, while Max Bielfeldt, Spike Albrecht and Mark Donnal all played a fifth year elsewhere. Add in the early NBA departures of so many, including Iggy Brazdeikas and Jordan Poole after the 2018-19 campaign, and the loss of DeJulius/Castleton should not cause waves among the Maize and Blue fan base.
Beilein slowly adjusted to the new reality but there was seemingly always a level of discomfort in recruiting more bodies than he had available scholarships. It worked out that way, and he did it more and more later in his career, but it caused moral and ethical hardship for a man like Beilein, that wanted to be old-school.
By all accounts, Howard is a man of high integrity too, but he stepped into a college basketball world as a first-time coach with no misunderstanding of what the game is today, a recruiting world in which programs have to recruit over their rosters because of the transfer-portal, NBA exits, and because everyone else is doing it.
To stay up with the joneses, you have to play the same game, and Michigan has done just that in Howard's first year and will continue to do so.
