Colin Castleton provides injury update on his broken hand

Florida lost big man Colin Castleton for the season due to a broken hand injury he suffered in a 79-64 win over Ole Miss back on Feb. 15.

The big man has remained quite engaged with the team, including participating in the team’s Senior Day festivities and traveling with the squad to the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

Castleton provided an injury update to the SEC Network’s Marty Smith during the first half of Florida’s SEC Tournament opener against Mississippi State.

“So I had a hard cast that was on for like about two weeks,” Castleton said. “Then I just got this new cast put on, it’s like a removable one, I can shower in it, work out in it. Just getting back in the gym and getting my conditioning up and just getting ready for these last two weeks with this on.”

Given Florida’s status pretty far off the NCAA Tournament bubble, it’s highly unlikely Castleton will suit up for the Gators again.

But he’s done his best to influence the team in a positive way still, offering advice when he can, including during today’s game against Mississippi State.

Florida changed the way it played without Colin Castleton

Though Florida didn’t make wholesale changes following Colin Castleton’s injury, the team did become a bit more perimeter-oriented following his injury.

The team still relied on big man Jason Jitoboh, who saw his role expand considerably after Castleton was hurt.

“We definitely need Jason,” coach Todd Golden said. “That’s the one guy that we know is capable. He’s done a wonderful job of being a great teammate, understanding that he has a guy in Colin in front of him that’s playing like a top 10-15 player in the country.”

Castleton, though, was extremely hard to replace. He finished his senior season averaging 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.7 assists per game.

Castleton earned first-team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches after the season.