Former Providence Friar Rafael Castro, known to Friartown simply as Slim, has signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets.
Castro became eligible for the 2026 NBA Draft after finishing his redshirt senior season at George Washington, and he certainly did enough to get some attention. At the NBA Draft Combine, his pure measurements were off the charts as far as wingspan (7’1.25”) and standing reach (9’1.5”). He then suited up for Milwaukee in both the California Classic and NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
He played in 5 games averaging just 13.3 minutes per contest. Although he didn’t get a chance to really show off his offensive skillset, his athleticism on defense was noticeable right away. Once he was given extended minutes in the last two games of the summer league season for Milwaukee, he tallied 3 and 4 steals respectively. His 4.3% steal percentage was good for 9th best in the entire summer league which is saying something based on his limited playing time and the fact that he is freaking 6’10”.
After three seasons at Providence, including a redshirt freshman year, Castro transferred to George Washington and really took off. He started all 63 games he played as a junior and senior, averaging 14.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.52 blocks and 1.48 steals while shooting an impressive 64.4% from the field. In fact, during those two seasons, Castro and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg were the only Division I players in the country to average at least 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.50 blocks and 1.40 steals per game. Yeah, that’s a pretty damn good stat line. Lendeborg was a lottery selection by the Dallas Mavericks and will be playing for his former college coach Dusty May.
Castro was also a two time Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team selection and finished as a finalist for the 2025-26 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award. Castro led the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage in both years he played for GW (66.0% in 2024-25 & 62.7% in 2025-26). In 2024-25 he also led the conference in offensive rebounds (108) and total rebounds (304). Providence could have really used a guy like him during that two year stretch, don’tcha think?
I just want to see something real quick. I want to check out all of the guys who could really play that Kim had during his three years as head coach of the Friars.
Devin Carter – Big East Player of the Year, lottery pick (13th) by the Sacramento Kings
Bryce Hopkins – 1st Team All-Big East, drafted by the Denver Nuggets (49th), signed a two-way contract with Denver
Josh Oduro – Signed Exhibit 10 deals with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2024 & 2025, two-way contract in 2026. Playing for Melbourne in the NBL for next season
Rafael Castro – 2x All-Defensive Team in the A-10 for George Washington, signed two-way contract with the Houston Rockets
Jaylin Sellers – Led the Big East in points scored (605), points per game (18.3), and free throw percentage (85.9%), signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim – Selected 29th in the G-League Draft, played for the Sacramento and Oklahoma City affiliates
A ton of former Friar are playing professionally overseas already – Bensley Joseph (France), Ticket Gaines (Mexico), Corey Floyd Jr. (Switzerland), Wesley Cardet Jr. (Israel), & Cole Hargrove (Slovenia).
Even the guys who transferred and are still in college are doing well. Anton Bonke will be the starting center for Michigan State, Stefan Vaaks will be starting for Illinois who was just in the Final Four, Jamier Jones will be starting for Missouri, Justyn Fernandez averaged 16.6 ppg and shot 40.3% for Delaware,
I’m projecting that both Vaaks and Jones catch on in either the NBA or G-League once they’re out of college, so that would make it 8 players over three years who were good enough to get contracts and a 48-52 record with no NCAA Tournament appearances for Kim English.
Side note, I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t get a little extra satisfaction from the Rockets corresponding roster move to add Castro.
Best of Luck Slim!
The Morning Hangover 