The Wolverine

April 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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10 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2019   INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Freshman Colin Castleton has im- proved significantly since his arrival in Ann Arbor. The center has backed up junior Jon Teske and enjoyed some solid moments down the stretch for the Wolverines. Entering the NCAA Tournament, he has seen action in 13 contests and scored a career-best 11 points in just nine minutes of a victory versus Nebraska Feb. 28. Castleton answered some of our questions in this Q&A: The Wolverine: You've gotten your opportunity late in the season and made the most of it. How have you stayed prepared after sitting for most of the year? Castleton: "I talk to the coaches and they just told me to be ready every day. If you keep working hard you're going to get an opportu- nity, and when that opportunity comes you have to shine. You can't back down from competition; you can't back down from a big game. "I had some bumps in the road, had some really down days, but I just fought back and kept my head high. Coach B [John Beilein] has been telling me I've been progressing ever y day and going upward. Hopefully I can keep going upward." The Wolverine: You and junior point guard Zavier Simpson seem to do a lot of talking and have a good bond. How has he helped you? Castleton: "When I was on scout team, we would do a lot of other teams' defenses. We would switch, and Zavier and I would be on each other. He'd score on me or I'd block his shot a bunch, and we would just talk back and forth. That's mainly where we started talking trash. "If I score, he's really happy for me. That's pretty cool to see … he carries himself like that. We do so much work together, work hard in practice, it's just fun." The Wolverine: Your nick name "Swaggy C" has kind of stuck. How did it start? Castleton: "It was coach Luke [Yak- lich], when he was recruiting me he just made it up. I just went with it. I didn't say, 'I don't like it.' "They all started calling me it; Jon [Teske] does it as a joke. Some other players have different nicknames, too." The Wolverine: You've added a lot of muscle and teammates say you have gotten more physical. Talk about that transformation. Castleton: "A lot of it is mindset. I came into college, and it's a very dif- ferent game. I was adapting to it, tak- ing time to be more p hys i c a l. I'm 2 3 2 pounds on average and have gained a lot of weight, but it's mindset stuff. "I lift almost every day, and if not then ever y other day. I used to lift on game days when [coaches] weren't there. I'm adding weight, eat- ing the right way, h a v i n g t h e r i g h t sleep habits; every- thing, the all-around lifestyle stuff helped me gain weight. "Coach [Jon] Sand- erson is one of the best strength coaches in the country. I knew he'd do it for me; I just had to take the initiative and do it myself." The Wolverine: How hard has that transition been to college from high school? Castleton: "It's definitely difficult, be- cause in high school you're used to smaller guys. At the college level ev- erybody is bigger, one through five. I'm learning how to finesse a little, be able to be more structured as a player, not go up and try to dunk everything. "That's a big skill set Jon has. He's great around the rim … He's taught me a lot of things. Every single day, little pointers, teaching me all these things … it helps a lot." — Chris Balas Sitting Down With Michigan Freshman Center Colin Castleton Castleton scored a career-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Wolverines in an 82-53 win over Nebraska Feb. 28. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Wolverine Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.

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