Angel Castellano has been an outside shooting threat from basically the moment he first started playing basketball at the age of 5. He remembered hitting his first 3-pointer a year later from the corner in Harrison’s recreation gym.
“I started young,” Castellano said about when he first started playing. “I used to play at the Rec (Center) when I was little. My mom used to put me in there. I was always a shooter though.”
Now a junior at Harrison, Castellano’s making 3-pointers at a rate not seen at Harrison in years.
On January 6, Castellano made what is believed to be a school-record eight 3-pointers in a 65-62 victory at Secaucus. Eight 3-pointers may seem like an impossible bar to reach, but Castellano did it again just seven days later, on Jan. 13, as part of a 34-point effort against North Arlington. Castellano followed that up with four 3-pointers and 26 points in a 49-38 victory over Hawthorne Christian.
Castellano’s sharp shooting makes him The Observer Athlete of the Week.
“I am pretty surprised,” said Castellano about making eight 3-pointers in a game. “But all the work I’ve been doing during the offseason just shooting, shooting off the dribble, I think I’ve worked hard for it.”
Over the last six games, Castellano is averaging 22.3 points per game with an eye-opening 30 3-pointers.
“To be honest, no, I haven’t seen something like this,” Harrison head coach Jose Camano said. “I’ve coached a lot of good players as a coach, but I haven’t coached a player like Angel who could shoot the lights out. And once he gets hot, it’s really hard to stop him.
“We’ve had good shooters, going back Ulises Rodriguez and Edward Burgos, but I never thought I would get another player like those kids. The way Angel has been playing and the way Angel shoots the basketball, it’s unbelievable.”
So to is where Castellano will shoot. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound guard routinely hits 3-pointers from NBA range. Recently, Camano said Castellano took and made a shot from the volleyball six feet line.
“Every time he has the ball he’s dangerous,” said Camano. “He is able to pull up from anywhere on the court.”
“I think I could hit about anything,” Castellano said. “It’s just me using my legs, getting the reps up before practice and after practice.”
For the season, Castellano is averaging 18.1 points per game, up 4.5 from last year. With 47 3-pointers made in just 13 games, he’s on pace to easily clear last year’s mark of 64.
“My sophomore year I was just a catch and shoot guy,” said Castellano. I wouldn’t really dribble that much. I think it’s a big difference from my sophomore year.”
Castellano credits his work over the summer, both shooting in his backyard, as well as playing AAU basketball with Mustangz AAU out of Fair Lawn.
As a result, Camano saw a more complete guard, which was just what Harrison needed as he told both Castellano and teammate Jordan Downs that they had to lead the way for the Blue Tide to compete in a tough NJIC National division.
“He’s more than just a shooter,” Camano said. “Coming into this year I told him that he might have to bring the ball up, he might have to control the tempo of the game and he’s taken that full responsibility. He’s changed his game compared to last year. Last year, he was more of a spot shooter. This year, he has the ball in his hands and he can create his own shot.”
Together, Castellano and Downs have combined to make 89 3-pointers this season. For a Harrison team short on size and experience, its very own version of the ‘Splash Brothers,’ has allowed them go 6-7 and already get more wins in a season than they have had since 2020.
The 2020 season was also the last time the Blue Tide qualified for the state tournament. A goal that might have seemed like a long shot a few months ago, no longer is, thanks to its long-range shooter.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)