Castor signs at NMU
GLADSTONE — Reece Castor became Northern Michigan University’s first basketball recruit for next season when he signed a national letter of intent Friday.
The Gladstone High School senior decided to sign on the dotted line immediately rather than wait to see if anything else popped up during his final season.
“It is exciting to finally achieve the goal I have been dreaming of since I was a little kid,” Castor said after the signing.
“The big thing was to go to Northern when I was wanted rather than wait,” he said in the Gladstone High School library, indicating there were no guarantees NMU would wait or other scholarship offers would be available after the season.
Castor, who also visited Michigan Tech, Central Michigan and Wisconsin-Green Bay, had his sights set on earning a Division 1 scholarship, which is difficult to attain for an Upper Peninsula cage prospect.
“It is okay with me,” he said of not landing at the D-1 level. “Early on I set a goal of playing college basketball. The most important thing was to go to college for free.”
Castor, who is considering a physical therapy career, said the D-1 goal was set when he started high school. He attended several offseason camps to get exposure and to play against premier competition that could enhance those chances.
“Reece was a camper here six years ago when I first got here,” said NMU coach Bill Sall. “We’ve kept track of him for several years. We certainly targeted him well into his sophomore year (at Gladstone and AAU).
“We just look for really good players and we certainly identified that (with him) early. It is great to see the relationship we have with Reece and his family pay off.”
Castor began looking at playing college basketball around fourth grade when his dad, former Gladstone standout and coach Clayton Castor, “told me I had the opportunity to play basketball.”
He said his dad’s background of playing and coaching was an impact to his early years on the hardwood. “I wanted to be like him growing up,” said the NMU recruit.
He ran cross country as a freshman but basketball has been his focus through his prep days.
The 6-foot-4 red-headed guard shared Great Northern Conference player of the year honors with Escanaba’s Tyler Willette as a sophomore and was a second-team U.P. Class A-B-C pick as a freshman and was A-B-C first team the past two seasons. He was a Detroit Free Press all-state pick as a sophomore and BCAM all-state last year.
Last year Castor averaged 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He has scored 1,277 points in his career and is just 48 points shy of the school record owned by former all-stater and NMU star Doug Ingalls.
“Reece is just an all-around player,” Gladstone coach Dane Quigley said last season. “He controls the ball and has it in his hands most of the time.”
Castor, who envisions a similar role with the Wildcats, said he has to improve his footwork and his all-around game before moving to NMU.
Sall agreed, indicating defense will also be critical to play at this new level.
“He has got to learn how to defend at this level,” said Sall. “We have a team with a lot of scorers and we’ve made steps (forward) the last couple of years because we’ve gotten those scorers to actually play defense. He has the desire, but the biggest adjustment is the pace of play and learning how to defend.”
Sall noted the Wildcats will graduate a pair of standout guards, Isaiah Johnson and Naba Echols, giving Castor a good shot at playing time.
“I feel he can do that,” Sall said of filling in at guard. “I fully expect him to have an incredible career here.
“He has great size for a guard, and I’d like to see him play some point guard,” Sall said. “He can play anywhere on the perimeter. He is a great shooter, but what I like most about him is how well he sees the floor and makes the simple plays because he is so fundamentally sound.”
Castor said signing early will be beneficial. “I got this out of the way. Now I can focus on the team and winning ball games,” he said.