Thank You Casto

                As everyone reading this is undoubtedly aware, DeAngelo Casto has left WSU a year early to pursue a Professional basketball career.  At this point, it would take a miracle for him to land on an NBA squad in the near future, and his immediate contributions will likely be on an international squad. This announcement has brought a surprisingly strong backlash from Cougar fans, and I cannot figure out why.

Unlike almost any other profession, most professional athletes are unable to continue playing, and therefore earning, much past the age of 30. There will always be guys who can play past this (Farve, Jordan etc…), but even in the best cases playing any sport professionally at 40 is incredibly rare.  In nearly every other field, ages 30-50 are generally the highest earners and the most able to do their job. Many people have the same career for decades. Casto will be very lucky to still be lacing them up in 10 years. Because of this, every year an athlete stays in school represents a large percentage of their earning window. Casto is 21 years old, and with a few breaks can play for 10 more years. If he decided to stay one more year (finishing his eligibility but not his degree) then 10% of his window will have closed. If he stayed the final year and got his degree, then 20% is gone and he is looking just 8 years in a best case scenario.

                Average Euro basketball players in the top leagues earn around 100,000 per year. With Casto leaving now, he is adding 200,000 in earning potential over staying to finish his degree. Further, I believe that time spent in European leagues will allow him to better develop his game to an NBA level. I believe this for several reasons. Firstly, Casto has the athleticism and size of a 3-4 tweener in the league, with the skillset of a center. At WSU, Casto will likely never get the chance to play outside the paint, at least not often. He is our de facto center, and that has been his focus for the last 3 years. However, he will not be a center in the NBA, if he ever makes it. With time playing professionally in Europe, he can develop more of his finesse game and become somewhat more like a European style 4. He will never lose his athleticism and power which have served him so well at WSU, and focusing on a mid-range jumper, some handles and some better ball security could allow him to be an NBA level player. He can play defense at an NBA level, and if his offense can extend consistently to 17 feet then there will be plenty of teams wanting his services.

                Many people have been coming down hard on him for not finishing his degree. While I know and accept that a college degree opens a lot of doors in the post-basketball life, I think that people need to realize that college is not for everybody. Personally, I have recently stopped going to WSU for many of the same reasons as DeAngelo. I am a chef, and was at WSU for the Hospitality school. After two years, I realized that the program was not for me and that I had serious earning potential right now without a degree. Though I am attending culinary school next year, I cannot stress enough how much school takes away from your passions and dreams when it is impossible to see how each class, grade and degree will seriously improve your future. School was difficult for DeAngelo, not because he was stupid or lazy, but because he couldn’t see the point, and frankly I can’t blame him. If he is anything like me, he spent his classes dreaming about what he loved to do and excelled at, not about turning in his next assignment. If you have ever spoken to D, or heard him in an interview, you know that he is well spoken, bright and incredibly funny.  I know that in the time since I left school and fully focused myself on my cooking, my skills have increased dramatically. I expect DeAngelo to experience a similar improvement.

I want to say a couple of things about the culture of College Athletics today. This is the age of the one and done, early draft declarations and huge money for young men.  If you do not like it, fine, but bashing a 21 year old who stayed in school longer than many of his peers and who is trying to provide for his family by means of his passion is misguided, selfish and unnecessary.  It is the culture of college sports and that will likely never change.

I would like to thank DeAngelo for his 2,356 minutes in a cougar uniform. Thanks for only missing two games in your entire crimson career. For every one of his 332 field goals, 499 boards and for 165 beautiful rejections, every true cougar and I thank DeAngelo Casto.