Depending on whom you ask, Stephon Castle is either a fast-developing guard whose rise at Connecticut portends a long and productive NBA career, or a bricklaying combo guard who can’t quite play the point and can’t shoot well enough to play shooting guard.
Either way, his boosters and detractors agree ahead of the NCAA championship game on Monday: Castle is a sure-thing Top 10 pick and has the potential to crack the Top 5.
“It depends on one thing with him: Do you think he can make 3s?” one Western Conference coach wondered. “If you do, if you think he is going to get to 35, 37 percent from the (3-point) line, then he has all the other tools you want. If not, he’s Dante Exum or Wade Baldwin. There are a lot of guys with good skills who never could quite shoot, and they do not last long in the league.”
Harsh, for sure. But that’s the view on Castle, who is 6-foot-6 and already a solid playmaker and top-tier defender. Even among those who have doubts about him, there are reasons for optimism.
“He has shown he can shoot,” the coach said. “Just not from distance. But he has the tough from other spots on the floor and that makes me think that he can learn. It’s still a tough transition. He would not be a Top 10 pick in most drafts.”
Stephon Castle = Andre Iguodala?
Indeed, it is a relatively weak draft here in 2024, and that’s part of the reason that Castle has been able to spike up the draft boards despite shooting 26.8% from the 3-point line. That’s a rough number coming into an NBA that is more 3-happy than ever. But Castle is averaging 11.0 points on 47.3% shooting from the field in general, and there is enough enthusiasm for his other skills to worry about the shooting later.
“He needs the right cast around him, you would do well to have shooters around him, and if you get that, he could help right away,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “He can handle the ball, he is a very good passer, not quite a point guard but he can run your offense and be the secondary guy.
“What I would love for him is to have him in a role off the bench with starter-type minutes, because I think he has the same kind of skills as guys like Andre Iguodala and Victor Oladipo. He can play that kind of role. But those guys, remember, they changed teams, they needed time to land in the right situation. It could take time for him.”
Rockets, Raptors Would Be Ideal NBA Draft Spots
Of course, for a team making a pick in the Top 10, choosing a guy who is likely going to have to leave in order to find success is not the most enticing sales job. Most GMs making the drafting decisions need to win sooner rather than later.
“That’s the trick,” the executive said. “You get him in your building, in your program, you are going to invest a lot in developing him but if it is not the right situation, I don’t think he will develop into what you want. Most of the teams in the Top 10, you do not want him there—Detroit, Washington, Charlotte, the Blazers, teams that are just starting to rebuild.
“But put him on the Rockets? The Raptors? On a team that has other pieces and you’re just slotting him in as a do-everything glue guy, he could shine in a place like that.”
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Stephon Castle NBA Draft Stock: Connecticut Star a Top 5 Pick?