He's always on the rebound
ADAMS TWP — Mars boys basketball coach Rob Carmody offered several compliments about junior center/forward John Castello's play, but one stood out.
“He's like Dennis Rodman without the tattoos,” Carmody said after Castello pulled down 18 rebounds in a victory over Freeport Dec. 30.
It's not that rebounding is the only part of Castello's game — he's averaging 16.1 points per game — but he sets a standard for himself when it comes to grabbing boards.
“My scoring is a big part of the game plan, but between Robby Carmody, Alex Gruber and Christian Schmitt, we have a lot of guys who can score,” said the 6-foot-5 Castello. “But I go into every game wanting to get between 10 and 15 rebounds.”
Castello is currently near the top end of that range, tallying 14.2 rebounds per contest.
He averaged 16.5 points and 15 rebounds per game in a breakout sophomore season, but he's much more comfortable on the court this year.
“Everything was so fast for me last season,” he said. “Things started to slow down near the end of last year and I'm much more relaxed now. I don't let my emotions get the best of me.”
His refined approach is evident to Coach Carmody.
“He is such an efficient basketball player,” he said. “(Against Freeport), we didn't run a single play for John and he still scored 24 points. He finds his own ways to score and continuously gets after it. I've yet to see a player who can guard him.”
Castello's confidence level has improved when it comes to shooting.
“I'm comfortable anywhere inside the 3-point line, though I have hit a couple of 3-pointers this season,” he said. “I like playing forward more than center because it gives me more of a chance to freelance. We have a lot of guys who can pass really well and that helps.”
Possibly the most revealing aspect of Castello's athleticism is that despite his impressive numbers on the hardwood, basketball may not even be his best sport. He has been a disruptive force at defensive end the last two seasons for the Planets' football team. This past fall, he led Mars with 16 receptions for 274 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end.
“I do want to play football in college,” he said, “but I'm not ruling out playing basketball.”
For now, Castello is focused on helping the Planets' basketball team maintain its fast start to the season. Mars is 12-1 overall and 5-0 in Section 1-AAA entering tonight's game at Knoch.
“We play hard and fast,” he said. “Depth is the key to our success and everybody on the team felt we could be this good.”
