Rafael Castro, a 6-11 center, has committed to George Washington. Castro played his first two seasons in Providence and will provide the Revs with a major addition in the front court.
With the loss of Babatunde Akingbola, the Revs have needed height and rim protection. The hope for the program is that Castro will provide that help in the front court.
Castro will have two years of eligibility remaining, a contrast to bringing in Akingbola, who only had one year left upon his arrival.
The future Rev averaged 2.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and .4 blocks per game in 9.3 minutes per game this season with the Friars.
There are many reasons to be excited about the arrival of Castro, especially his rebounding prowess. Digging into the advanced statistics, Castro had an 11.3% offensive rebounding percentage and an 18.4% rebounding percentage on the defensive side of the ball. Though a limited sample size, is an upgrade from 10.1% on the offensive glass and 13.6% on the defensive end.
A former top 150 recruit out of high school from Dover, New Jersey, Castro committed to Providence. He received sparing playing time in his two years and came off the bench behind former GW foe Josh Oduro under Kim English.
247Sports had Castro as the 142nd recruit in the class of 2021 and chose Providence over programs such as Dayton, Florida, and Seton Hall. He was recruited by an Assistant Coach named Chris Caputo with Miami.
“Rafael showed flashes, particularly this past season as an athletic big man with good potential. Most of those flashes came in games against lower level opponents in non-conference play and against the likes of DePaul in the Big East,” said Mike Hopkins, writer for pcbb1917.com, covering Providence. “Getting more game time at the right level could really help him realize the potential and allow his athleticism for his size to shine through. Friartown wishes him well at George Washington.”
This season, Castro had several strong games. In early season out-of-conference action against Columbia, Castro had a career-high 13 points to pair with three blocks. Against Big East opponent DePaul, Castro provided 12 points, eight rebounds, and two steals off the bench in 23 minutes of action.
Adding Castro will be the first of many additions for the Revs, and will likely not be the only addition to the front court, as the team looks to gain more size in both the backcourt and front court.
GW has a busy schedule of visits with double-digit visits planned starting last week, and there will likely be more commitments to come soon.
This story is developing. Stay tuned for more information and updates.
Photo courtesy of @Derek__Murray on X
