Spurs Prospect Preview: Stephon Castle

The Spurs have reported interest in the Swiss Army Knife of a guard who defends like crazy.

It’s officially draft rumor season. Last week, Kelly Iko at The Athletic reported that the San Antonio Spurs are “big fans” of UCONN’s Stephon Castle. Iko writes:

“The Spurs are said to be big fans of UConn’s Castle, league sources said, and he is moving up their draft board. San Antonio has two top-10 selections and could take Castle with either the No. 4 or No. 8 pick.”

On top of that, Jonathan Givony at ESPN reported that Castle does not plan to conduct workouts for teams with long-term start point guards in place, like the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers.

It’s not hard to read the tea leaves here. Castle’s camp is trying to steer him towards a specific destination. The Spurs seem to be one of, if not the only place they’d like him to play. Rarely do the Spurs leak their draft plans and thus far there hasn’t been a confirmed source out of San Antonio (to our knowledge) stating their interest in Castle.

And yet, it would not surprise me if the Spurs liked Castle. San Antonio General Manager, Brian Wright, certainly has a type. Big players who can play multiple positions and defend seem to be high on his priority list. Lack of shooting has not deterred him from selecting a player in the past (think Jeremy Sochan and Sidy Cissoko.) Castle is a 6-foot-6 guard/wing hybrid who will do the dirty work and is a smart offensive player. He’s one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft and fits a need for the Spurs.

Stephon Castle, 6-foot-6 guard/wing, UCONN

2023-2024 stats: 11.1 points, 2.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 47.2% FG, 26.7% 3PT, 75.5% FT, 50.7% EFG

Player comparison: Bruce Brown

Strengths

Watching Castle play defense is a joy. He was UCONN’s defensive stopper as a freshman. Castle was assigned multiple tough matchups this year, whether it was Mark Sears at Alabama, Devin Carter from Providence or Kam Jones of Marquette. He went toe-to-toe with the best scorers in college basketball and gave them fits.

Castle’s success on the defensive end stems from his motor, footwork, frame and strength. He’s 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan and has some bulk at 210 pounds. He’s athletic too, with a 37-inch vertical and 3.19-second three-quarter court sprint time. Castle has flexible hips, giving him the ability to keep the ball in front of him even if he has to change directions. His length helps him contest shots not only on the perimeter but also at the rim. He wasn’t asked to do it often, but Castle displayed some ability to switch onto bigger players and hold his own. His frame also helps him clog up passing lanes, despite not often generating too many steals.

The defensive metrics back up Castle’s effectiveness, too. UCONN has a 95.5 defensive rating with Castle on the floor, compared to a 101.5 when he was on the bench. According to Synergy, Castle was in the 94th percentile in points per possession allowed in the pick-and-roll and the 80th percentile in isolation defense.

More than anything, what makes Castle a good defender is the intensity he brings to the game. He’s a relentless on-ball defender and is consistently locked in off the ball. He will hound ball-handlers, fight through ball screens, rotate off the ball to contest a shot, take charges and crash the glass. He’s quick to fifty-fifty balls and does all of the dirty work that wins games on the margins. In a tightly contested game against conference rival, St. Johns, Castle played 39 of the games 40 minutes, guarding with intensity throughout the win. It was a strong showcase of his winning defensive attitude.

Castle was a 5-star recruit and primary initiator in high school. UCONN had veteran ball-handlers in Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton, meaning Castle needed to share point-guard responsibilities and play off the ball. Not many highly touted recruits would buy-in to that change in role, but Castle did and a National Championship was his reward.

Castle improved tremendously as an off-ball player. While he didn’t shoot the ball at a high level, he’s an intelligent cutter who can manipulated a defense to open up looks for others. Countless times Castle would cut through the paint opening up more space for Donovan Clingan on the roll or Spencer on the perimeter. UCONN’s offense requires constant movement with multiple screens, dribble handoffs and designed cuts in one possessions. Castle was able to do all of it for the Huskies as a lead ball-handler and off-ball player.

UCONN head coach, Dan Hurley, had Castle bring the ball up a lot, but also used him as a screener, where he made solid contact and showed some interesting reps as a roll man. As a ball-handler, Castle is patient and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He averaged just 1.5 turnovers a game in his freshman season. He didn’t create as much offense as you’d like from a lead guard (more on that later) but he usually made the right play in the half court. Spurs fans will be happy to hear that he was at his best when he was passing to UCONN’s big men. He’s creative with his dump off passes around the basket and made nice entry feeds to Clingan in the post.

Most of Castle’s looks offensively came in the paint. He has decent touch on turnarounds and floaters from about 8-10 feet away from the hoop. He uses his length well to create angles for himself around the basket and has a lighting quick spin move. On straight line drives, Castle uses his strength more than his speed to initiate contact and get to the free throw line – he had a 37.9% free throw rate his freshman season. He’s an okay finisher at the rim, but lacks a creative arsenal of finishes at the basket that help him score against tough defense.

What’s most impressive about Castle are his intangibles. He has a high basketball IQ and feel for the game. He bought into a teams scheme as a freshman and emerged a champion. Before the championship, Hurley described Castle in a piece by :

“Hurley loves to call Castle ‘the anti-entitled five-star freshman,’ because there has never, not even in the recruiting process, shown a whiff of interest in his personal stats or playing time. He required no promises. Didn’t even balk at the fact (Tristan) Newton was absolutely not giving up the No. 2 jersey to a rookie.”

It’s apparent in the way Castle plays that he will do whatever it takes to win. The qualities he’s exhibited remind me a lot of other dirty work guards like Bruce Brown or Marcus Smart. Castle is a player who will impact winning on the margins and has the upside to develop into something more with his combination of skill, frame and athleticism.

Weaknesses

Those who are lower on Castle will immediately point to his lack of three-point shooting. Castle shot just 26.7% from deep this season and 75.5% from the free throw line. He shot just 27% on dribble jumpers at UCONN. His mechanics are slow and labored. It looks like Castle is somewhat uncomfortable with his own form. He’s shooting across his body and really loading up to deliver the ball toward the hoop. Looking closely at his form from the free throw line, it looks like Castle has a stiff wrist that doesn’t fully bend back, which means he’s almost catapulting his shot at the rim. It’s going to take some heavy investment from a shooting coach to smooth out his mechanics.

If you’re an optimist, you can point to Castle’s impressive star shooting performance at the NBA Draft Combine as a sign his shot is improving. He shot 18-25 in the drill, but I don’t take much stock in shooting in an empty gym with no defenders near you.

On top of Castle’s shooting woes, he doesn’t profile as a player who will create a lot of his own offense in the half court. Despite his speed and strength, Castle isn’t a player who creates space for himself off the bounce. Give him a screen and he’s fine (74th percentile scoring) but don’t expect Castle to be a high-volume isolation scorer. He’s also prone to force the issue a bit offensively. He uses his speed and strength to get into the paint but can get swallowed up and force errant shots or passes. Usually Castle makes the right decisions, but it seems like sometimes frustration gets the best of him, causing some forced offensive mistakes.

If you nitpick Castle’s defense, you’ll find he can be prone to foul trouble. Castle is a physical defender who gets in opposing players space. He is going to foul every once in awhile. It’s also fair to say that the NBA game is more physical than college and will be more forgiving for Castle. He’ll also be playing with six fouls rather than five, which means this shouldn’t be a major concern at the professional level.

Spurs fit

It’s hard not to think about San Antonio when watching UCONN. The Huskies have an offensive scheme based on ball movement involving five players who can dribble, cut, pass and screen. Given the Sochan point guard experiment, it seems like this is the type of team the Spurs want to put around Victor Wembanyama. Castle would give them another player who can do a lot of things offensively – whether that’s at point guard or off the ball.

Castle would be a good compliment to Wembanyama despite his lack of shooting. He’d be able to smartly cut into the open space created by the doubles sent at Wemby. Similar to Tre Jones, he can get downhill out of the pick and roll and find the big man on dump offs or lobs. He may not create space with deep shooting, but as an instinctual offensive player, he could still open up opportunities for San Antonio.

If it weren’t for his three-point shooting, Castle would be the perfect fit for the Spurs. How many non-shooters can you play next to Wembanyama Sochan and Castle would give opposing teams two players they don’t need to respect from deep. That means Wembanyama would see more double teams and paint packing. The Spurs aren’t quite at the point where they can pass on high-end talent strictly because of a shooting deficiency, but at a certain point that weakness needs to be addressed.

Defensively the fit is seamless. Castle would give them a strong defender at the point of attack who can also guard bigger wings. A starting lineup with Castle, Sochan, Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell and Wembanyama would be big, long and mean defensively.

More than anything, Castle would bring a winning mentality to San Antonio. He’s a grinder and a champion. The Spurs have a historic culture of winning, but it helps to have players who can uphold it. Players with Castle’s combination of talent, feel for the game and motor typically have long NBA careers. In a draft filled with uncertainty, you can bet on a player with Castle’s intangibles.

Previous Prospects:

Rob Dillingham

Reed Sheppard

Nikola Topic

Zaccharie Risacher