Position Preview: Castleton, Jitoboh back from injuries at the five

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — One of the few bright spots from the Florida men’s basketball team a year ago was star forward Colin Castleton.

Regardless of who the Gators faced up against, they could rely on their big man to do his part near the glass. Even with a torn labrum.

Castleton suffered the injury in January but returned to the starting lineup after six games, playing the final 12 through the injury and postponing surgery until after the season.

Castleton said he returned to full strength in early September.

“I’m 100 percent now,” he said. “You don’t realize it until playing five or six games on one shoulder how it really does affect you. And like it definitely affected my games in ways. I wasn’t blocking shots with my left hand and wasn’t trying to rebound with my left hand.

“Like, the (torn) labrum, you’re able to play on it. And it might not be the smartest, but I just really love playing basketball so that was just something I thought I would just do. There wasn’t really too much thought about it. I kind of just went with it.”

Castleton became the fourth Gator since 1996 with multiple 15/15 games, along with Marreese Speights, Al Horford and Udonis Haslem. He also posted a career high eight blocked shots at South Carolina and finished the year with 62 blocks, ranking second in the SEC despite his time out.

Now, Castleton returns for his final year of eligibility with the Gators, and he enters the 2022-23 campaign as a preseason All-SEC first team selection.

UF head coach Todd Golden assured fans that Castleton would be starting as long as he’s healthy. However, there’s more he wants to see out of the 6-foot-11, 250-pounder.

“To be honest, he needs to get a little more physical,” Golden told Gators Online and others. “We talked to him about it. And the great thing about Colin is he’s owning that in this leadership role. He’s allowing us to challenge him to be the best he can be, which is not only great for him individually but great for our team.”

Golden went on to credit Castleton for being a coachable player, which is an important example that he sets as one of the leaders of this Florida squad.

Castleton admits stepping into that role has been a transition for him. He transferred from Michigan as a scorer, rebounder and rim protector, but can now affect the game with his leadership and veteran presence as well.

“I’ve definitely transitioned while I’ve been in college,” Castleton said. “I’ve kind of switched my role of doing anything I can to just help win games, which is my biggest goal. But I feel like this year is the biggest year for me obviously. It’s my last year.

“We got a lot of guys who transferred in, and so just being able to just teach them things I’ve learned while I’ve been in college. Just making sure everybody in my locker room knows that I’m there for them and whatever they need, I can help them out.”

It’s also important to note Castleton, who has never made a collegiate 3-point basket, has worked a lot this offseason on his shots from beyond the arc — and hit them routinely in practice. Don’t be surprised if No. 12 pulls a few from deep this season.

RELATED: Colin Castleton back at full health, now adding to his game

Jitoboh’s role behind Castleton

Also returning at the five-spot is Jason Jitoboh, who comes back from a season-ending eye injury.

In Castleton’s absence a season ago, Jitoboh made his impact on the court over a three-game stretch. He had big shoes to fill, but Jitoboh did what was expected of him and then some.

In his first career start vs. Mississippi State, he battled through early foul trouble to post eight second-half points and a pair of blocked shots in the win.

Jitoboh posted his first career double-figure rebounding game with 10 boards to go along with eight points in a victory over Vanderbilt. He then shot 6-for-6 with 12 points at Ole Miss, the most made field goals without a miss by a Gator in two years.

In preseason camp, Jitoboh has shown a powerful presence underneath the basket as he worked his way back from four total procedures on his eye.

His official injury?

“I detached a muscle that made my left eye go left and right. And I had a damaged retina. I couldn’t see for like eight months,” Jitoboh said. “For like almost three months I had to lay face down for like 20 hours a day. Just a lot of stuff that you would not think someone would have to go through with an eye. It was definitely a lot of low moments.

“It’s definitely been a long process. The whole year has been long. I’ve been going through this for nine months now. It’s a lot of patience, a lot of perseverance, a lot of hard work to get to where I’m at right now. Still got a long way to go, but I like where I’m at.”

UF assistant coach Carlin Hartman said he wouldn’t wish Jitoboh’s recovery process on his worst enemy. They weren’t able to work together on the court until mid-April, and Hartman admittedly had his doubts about him because he wasn’t in great shape or running hard.

But after they had lunch together and connected, the two developed a tight-knit bond over the spring and summer. Hartman now describes Jitoboh as his guy and said he’s “got a soft spot” for him.

“I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have his life change just like it did in an instance,” Hartman said. “Credit to him for persevering and getting through it because, quite frankly, there’s not a lot of kids would do that unless they want to be a part of what we’re building.

“I think Jason still has a lot more to give in the game. And I say that in a good way because he’s got great hands, got great feet, can finish inside and I also think that defensively he’s one of the better guys in terms of ball screen coverage that I’ve seen at this high level.”

Hartman added that it will be key to continuously give him more reps so he can feel confident that the staff trusts him when Castleton’s out, or in situations where both big men are on the floor.

For Jitoboh, the center’s goals are simple: play better and win games.

“I feel like my goals this year is just to, well you got a little sneak peek of it last year, but just to be two times better than that and what I showed,” Jitoboh said. “Not to prove myself, but I kind of have something to prove because people haven’t seen me play basketball in a minute. But first of all, just to win and then go out there and show I can play at a high level.”

Previous Position Previews:

Friendly competition at the four between Felder, Fudge

Kowacie Reeves and Will Richard battle for the wing

Riley Kugel already competing to start at two-spot

UF upgrades with ‘true point guard’ in Kyle Lofton

Stay tuned to Gators Online.