Men\u2019s basketball is losing its anchor.<\/p>\n
With seven players<\/a> entering<\/a> the<\/a> transfer<\/a> portal<\/a> after a disappointing 19-16 season, next year\u2019s squad will be unrecognizable. But the biggest change is coming around the basket, with star forward Rafael Castro out of eligibility after four years of college basketball.\u00a0<\/p>\n His impact on the team is obvious in the numbers alone \u2014 he\u00a0led<\/a> the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks per game while shooting an efficient 62.7% from the field. But his absence this season is even more telling: After a narrow loss<\/a> to eventual NCAA Tournament team Saint Louis, Castro missed nearly a month with a foot injury, sidelined in a boot and unable to play.<\/p>\n Castro\u2019s absence only magnified the Revolutionaries\u2019 existing struggles with playmaking as they struggled to replicate his presence on both ends of the court. During the six games he missed, GW went 2-4 \u2014 two of those losses coming by a single basket \u2014 as the team continued to falter in close contests, particularly against strong Atlantic 10 opponents. That stretch ultimately contributed to an 8-10 conference record and a ninth-place seed in the A-10 Championship.<\/p>\n Sidelined during a critical point in the season, Castro said he was forced to adapt, taking on a different kind of leadership role without being able to contribute on the court.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, it took a lot of patience,\u201d Castro said. \u201cI learned a new role, leading from the sidelines and not being able to lead by example so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Castro said even with his injury, the preseason goals to win A-10 Player of the Year and win Defensive Player of the Year never changed, and he thinks that if he had not suffered the foot injury, the discourse for the Revs would have been different.<\/p>\n \u201c[The goals] never changed,\u201d Castro said. \u201cThose are still the goals for sure. And I\u2019m pretty sure if I never missed those six games, I definitely would have won Player of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n Castro said despite the sub-.500 conference record and a ninth-place finish, the Revs were still productive in terms of reaching a postseason tournament and finishing with an overall winning record, even though the team did not meet their own expectations and what the league thought of them heading into the season.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a decent season,\u201d Castro said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t do the things we planned to do or wanted to do as a group, and I sat out a couple of games through the injury, so that\u2019s unfortunate. But overall, it was a decent season, and we got a lot accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n Castro is right to call it a decent season, though one that ultimately fell short of expectations.\u00a0After a decade of program struggles, the team won a game in the A-10 Championship for the second consecutive year and took part in the National Invitation Tournament, where they would defeat<\/a> Utah Valley University in the first round before falling<\/a> to the University of New Mexico \u2014 feats they wouldn\u2019t have touched without Castro\u2019s prowess on both ends of the court. But they also finished ninth in the conference with a losing record in a year when many expected them to be toward the top. Going into the season, the A-10 preseason poll had the Revs finishing<\/a> fourth.<\/p>\n Despite the injury, Castro\u2019s individual performance this season was far from merely decent. Building on a strong debut year, he elevated his play to solidify his status as one of the A-10\u2019s most impactful two-way players and the clear centerpiece of the program. Plus, his rise coincided with a turnaround for the team. In his two seasons in Foggy Bottom, Castro helped lead the Revs to back-to-back postseason appearances, with the 2024-25 squad competing<\/a> in the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament and this season\u2019s team reaching<\/a> the second round of the NIT. Before his arrival, the program had not appeared in postseason play since 2017.<\/p>\n When asked about his time as a Rev, Castro said he was thankful for the experience and the belief his teammates and coaches had in him.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thankful for the coaching staff, thankful for the GW community that embraced me with open arms and ultimately gave me an opportunity I\u2019ve been waiting for a couple of years in college,\u201d Castro said. \u201cBeing able to go out there and play freely, play through mistakes and find myself again felt great.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Castro\u2019s opportunity to perform came after two seasons at Providence College. With the Friars, he played sparingly and showed only flashes of his potential. Castro arrived<\/a> at GW in April 2024 in search of a larger role and immediately turned that opportunity into production. Using his size and length to his advantage, he quickly became a consistent force in the paint on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n After redshirting his first year at Providence, he averaged 1.8 points per game and only 6.5 minutes per game. In his redshirt sophomore campaign with the Friars, Castro saw a slight rise in points and playing time, finishing the year averaging 2.9 PPG in 9.3 MPG.<\/p>\n In his first season with the Revs, Castro quickly found the playing time he hadn\u2019t seen in the Big East, translating his big stature and long arms into consistent paint scoring and shot blocking.<\/p>\n In his Revs debut, a 76-59 victory over<\/a> Mercyhurst University on Nov. 5, 2024, he recorded a double-double in points and rebounds, his first of 13 that season. Castro would finish the year leading the team in points and rebounds per game and leading<\/a> the conference in the latter stat.<\/p>\n This season, Castro once again proved why he was the star of the Revs. He scored in double figures 24 times and notched nine double-doubles. His season high in points, 27, came in the first game of A-10 play against Richmond.<\/p>\n