Castrillo transforms himself

For most, life is a series of course corrections. Some we undertake willingly, others are forced upon us. How we react is the key to either our salvation or submersion.

Like so many others, Marcos Castrillo long dreamed of playing DI. To start the process, he was going to head out of Pinole Valley High and land somewhere in the highest level of collegiate basketball.

"That's what I was thinking," he recalled. "But a couple of things came up and it was again a matter of working my way up to DI."

He signed on for a two-year stepping stone at Merritt College in Oakland.

Why the Thunderbirds?

"One of my teammates went up there and I went along to visit. I liked what I saw and came back a couple of more times."

It became a mutual admiration society of sorts and Castrillo signed on..

"My goals were to get stronger, add weight, work on my game and make the playoffs." 

Check, check, check and check.

Castrillo's hoops assets broadened and he was part of the Thunderbird team that went to the Final Four in 2013, courtesy of consecutive playoff victories over American River College, Fresno City College, Ohlone College and San Joaquin Delta College before coming up short against Mt. San Antonio College.

"Our sophomores were all on the same page as the season moved on and we knew going to the playoffs would help with exposure," he said.

His highlight moment came in that last second win over Delta with a Castrillo rebound and putback shot that was the game winner:



Besides his advancement on the court, Castrillo also earned his A.A. degree.

So available once again to move up, the 6-foot-7, 205-pound Castrillo ventured on to the open market.

His strongest suitor was Western New Mexico University (WNMU), a DII member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Castrillo chose to become a Mustang.

"You think if you work hard that you'll go DI but it's a lot harder than you think. There are so many factors."

WNMU is located in Silver City, a town in the southwestern section of the state. According to Castrillo, "It was a hard adjustment moving to a rural area with a slow-paced style of living but it helped to focus compared to if I were to go to a bigger school with more distractions." 

Adjust he did, posting a tops-on-the-team 12.9 points plus 6.4 rebounds a game, with a 47% overall shooting accuracy this season.

Additionally, he was also asked to be a leader and "that took a lot adjusting. I needed to be the example and get my teammates on the same page so to get there I had to work hard. At Merritt, I played my role but I wasn't an enforcer. It's been a change for me with Western New Mexico."

Now three quarters of the way into a B.A. in interdisciplinary studies, Castrillo likes the major because "it offers a wide horizon. It has a lot of business classes and psychology classes."

As for after WNMU, "it depends on how my [senior] season goes." He wants to play professionally but his down-the-line plan is to work in business and public relations with a basketball team or other sports franchises.

Yes, Castrillo could have become petulant and folded after not having reached his coveted original goal -- DI playing status. Instead, he twice recalibrated and enlarged his personal and basketball repertoire. He's a different person now with much more to offer regardless if it's a basketball or other business opportunity that comes his way.