Sophomore point guard Rene Castro has once again brought this small private school, just west of Boston, into the spotlight. Now it might be overzealous and somewhat premature to compare the sophomore point guard to the likes of Wayne Turner, the #1 recruited point guard in the nation and graduate of BCDS in 1995.
Castro averaged 24 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 6 assists and 3 steals as a freshman for the 2010 Eastern Independent League Champion. He shot over 50% from the field and 75% from the free throw line and was runner-up as EIL MVP and NEPSAC (New England Prep School Athletic Conference) Player of the Year. The BCDS Boys Varsity basketball team relies heavily on this new recruit from Milton, MA.
Currently, ESPN.com has Castro as the #14th ranked point guard in the 2013 recruiting class. The website goes on to say “Castro is a scoring combo-guard who can put the ball in the basket in a number of ways. If he can develop into more of a true point guard and learn to run the team while picking his spots more effectively his stock will only continue to rise”. Coach Figueroa projects Castro to be a “Division 1 prospect, as a point guard or number two man due to his skill, size, and strength”. The buzz is out there as some major Division 1 programs such as Boston College and Providence College have already offered athletic scholarships. “I’ve coached several Division-1 players throughout my career and Castro is far and away better, for his age, than any of my former players”, says Coach Figueroa who has coached basketball at the collegiate and high school levels for more than two decades.
So time will tell if Castro can live up to the hype, but the numbers are already starting to fall into place. Filling the shoes of the most notable athlete to have ever played at Beaver Country Day is certainly not easy. Is it impossible? No. Does Castro have what it takes? Maybe. Is he willing to put in the time to make it happen? He already has. Will Beaver Country Day School witness the next Wayne Turner? Only time will tell.