Checking Up On Former UConn Star Stephon Castle 19 Games Into NBA Career
The UConn Huskies could really use Stephon Castle right now, and it’s hard to believe that the 20-year-old guard for the San Antonio Spurs would be a sophomore for the Huskies if he had returned to Storrs.
That, of course, would have been a ridiculous decision given Castle’s NBA readiness, which is among the best in the 2024 NBA rookie class.
Seeing Castle’s talent translate to the NBA so seamlessly reiterates just how much value Dan Hurley’s program lost when Castle moved on to the next level (not to mention Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer, and Tristen Newton all joining Castle).
In just 19 games with the Spurs, Castle has San Antonio fans more than excited about the team’s future. Someone recently — and ingeniously — came up with the nickname, “Area 51”, for Castle (uniform No. 5) and Victor Wembanyama (uniform No. 1), the latter of whom was already being compared to an alien for his beyond-unicorn rareness of talent.
Castle is averaging 11.5 points and 3.8 assists per game for the Spurs, but his impact goes beyond stats. He’s shown the capacity to guard the other team’s best guard or wing on any given night, quite an eye-opening ability for a 20-year-old with limited NBA experience.
Offensively, Castle has scored over 20 points on three occasions already, showing potential as a legitimate second option on that end. His explosiveness is undeniably elite — even among NBA athletes — and if his jumper comes along as he ages, there’s no reason Castle can’t be a regular 20-point scorer in the future.
The Spurs held a 10-9 record entering Friday, and a big reason for that is their decision to insert Castle into the starting lineup on November 6 and keep him there.
Castle has already received endorsements from LeBron James and Chris Paul, so there’s also that.
San Antonio has a ridiculous duo to build around in Castle and Wembanyama. Don’t be surprised if they enter contender status much sooner than expected and become one of the league’s hottest brands within the next couple of years.
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-6cddf44b9a81eadb9d1a4c19c1b3db49.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org