Stephon Castle

[DOT]

I think with him it's not necessarily that he can't do it, it's just he's sort of the odd man out

Maybe he can be more of a lead guard, maybe he can't. Kinda hard to tell when he's always playing next to high volume creators and in a motion heavy offense, plus you kinda need to earn it with Hurley, he doesn't just give guys minutes and shots just because they're highly ranked prospects. I think if he came back next year, with Newton and Spencer graduating, he'd be put in a more prominent ball handler role

But maybe he can't.

[Hal14]

I think with him it's not necessarily that he can't do it, it's just he's sort of the odd man out

Maybe he can be more of a lead guard, maybe he can't. Kinda hard to tell when he's always playing next to high volume creators and in a motion heavy offense, plus you kinda need to earn it with Hurley, he doesn't just give guys minutes and shots just because they're highly ranked prospects. I think if he came back next year, with Newton and Spencer graduating, he'd be put in a more prominent ball handler role

But maybe he can't.

Exactly. It's this, maybe but maybe not type of thing. It's uncertain. 

There's 2 options:
1) Castle returns for sophomore season with a chance to prove with a greater level of certainty what type of player he actually is at the next level, is he a PG? This doesn't seem likely though since he's a consensus top 15 pick.

2) Teams drafting can't project him as a PG with 100% certainly. But they also can project him as a PG with higher than 0% certainty. It's this gray area..luckily UConn should make a deep march madness un so we'll have a few more games to evaluate him on..

[DOT]

I think with him it's not necessarily that he can't do it, it's just he's sort of the odd man out

Maybe he can be more of a lead guard, maybe he can't. Kinda hard to tell when he's always playing next to high volume creators and in a motion heavy offense, plus you kinda need to earn it with Hurley, he doesn't just give guys minutes and shots just because they're highly ranked prospects. I think if he came back next year, with Newton and Spencer graduating, he'd be put in a more prominent ball handler role

But maybe he can't.

Exactly. It's this, maybe but maybe not type of thing. It's uncertain. 

There's 2 options:
1) Castle returns for sophomore season with a chance to prove with a greater level of certainty what type of player he actually is at the next level, is he a PG? This doesn't seem likely though since he's a consensus top 15 pick.

2) Teams drafting can't project him as a PG with 100% certainly. But they also can project him as a PG with higher than 0% certainty. It's this gray area..luckily UConn should make a deep march madness un so we'll have a few more games to evaluate him on..

I've watched most every UConn game this year as a UConn fan, so I am definitely biased, but while I can't say for sure he's a PG, I do know he's a good basketball player

He has the physical tools and the instincts, his skills just haven't caught up yet (mostly in terms of shooting), so I do think he's a relatively high floor guy. Like, low end comp would be Josh Hart who while not really great is definitely a rotational guy on a good team, and if Castle gets his shooting down, he'd be a high end starter

Selfishly I want him to come back for another year and show improvement, but if he's getting top 10 buzz it's kinda hard to justify staying, especially when the talent next year is much better. But it's been a while since any UConn guy was a one-and-done, especially with guys like Bouknight and Hawkins coming back for sophomore years, but Castle is the highest ranked freshman we've had in a long time so we'll see.

[EmpireFalls]

Castle as a PG without a jump shot sounds like a bad idea.

I am unconvinced whether his athleticism and ball handling is acutally all that special. It seems like his profile would suggest it and he is a great athlete, but I'm not sure if he's an amazing athlete.

[Saints14]

Castle feels very similar to Dyson Daniels as a prospect:

Castle UConn stats (26.8 MPG:
10.8/4.5/2.9/0.9stl/0.6blk/1.5tov on 47/28/75

Daniels GLI Showcase stats (31.2 MPG):
11.3/6.2/4.4/1.9stl/0.7blk/2.4tov on 45/26/74


So as prospects Daniels played on ball a bit more (more AST but slightly worse A/T ratio) and has the edge in steals and rebounds. He was also a bit younger and around an inch taller and longer. But if you felt good about Dyson being picked 8th in a better draft, that feels like about the right range for Castle in 2024

Not sure about that logic. Dyson would go like 17th in a re-draft.

He's been pretty underwhelming so far in the NBA. And that's because:

-Limited on offense and while he's a good defender, hasn't been good enough on D to make up for offensive limitations
-Strength is a bit of an issue (shouldn't be as much of an issue for Castle)
-A bit of a tweener from a positional standpoint. Has the size of a guard but lacks the skill set you would want from that position (ball handling, ability to run, initiate the offense..shooting) and doesn't quite have the size for a wing..

Castle could run into some of these same issues in the NBA.. best case could be if he is like a Bruce Brown type..which might be a guy worth taking in the 10-15 range. But nailing that archetype is easier said than done. A lot of those types of guys struggle to find their way, as we've seen with guys like Keon Johnson, Romeo Langford, Jaden Springer..Dyson Daniels too..

I dunno, I don't think there's anyone outside of Jalen Williams that the Pels definitely wish they took instead of Daniels. It's still very early for that stuff, and he's a guy who just turned 21 and is a solid rotation player on a good team. Daniels was always an "if he could shoot" guy, and so far the shooting hasn't been there, but that doesn't mean it won't for Castle. But I think Dyson is a reasonable outcome for Castle, maybe with less defensive upside but as someone who can be a nice role player even if he's not a true PG and the shot doesn't come around

[Hal14]

I think with him it's not necessarily that he can't do it, it's just he's sort of the odd man out

Maybe he can be more of a lead guard, maybe he can't. Kinda hard to tell when he's always playing next to high volume creators and in a motion heavy offense, plus you kinda need to earn it with Hurley, he doesn't just give guys minutes and shots just because they're highly ranked prospects. I think if he came back next year, with Newton and Spencer graduating, he'd be put in a more prominent ball handler role

But maybe he can't.

Exactly. It's this, maybe but maybe not type of thing. It's uncertain. 

There's 2 options:
1) Castle returns for sophomore season with a chance to prove with a greater level of certainty what type of player he actually is at the next level, is he a PG? This doesn't seem likely though since he's a consensus top 15 pick.

2) Teams drafting can't project him as a PG with 100% certainly. But they also can project him as a PG with higher than 0% certainty. It's this gray area..luckily UConn should make a deep march madness un so we'll have a few more games to evaluate him on..

I've watched most every UConn game this year as a UConn fan, so I am definitely biased, but while I can't say for sure he's a PG, I do know he's a good basketball player

He has the physical tools and the instincts, his skills just haven't caught up yet (mostly in terms of shooting), so I do think he's a relatively high floor guy. Like, low end comp would be Josh Hart who while not really great is definitely a rotational guy on a good team, and if Castle gets his shooting down, he'd be a high end starter

Selfishly I want him to come back for another year and show improvement, but if he's getting top 10 buzz it's kinda hard to justify staying, especially when the talent next year is much better. But it's been a while since any UConn guy was a one-and-done, especially with guys like Bouknight and Hawkins coming back for sophomore years, but Castle is the highest ranked freshman we've had in a long time so we'll see.

Agreed for the most part. But I'm not so sure about the bold part.

You're saying that on the low end, Castle is Josh Hart which is a solid rotational player on a good team..but if the shot comes around then he's a high end starter.

But Josh Hart *is* a pretty good shooter. Castle is not.

So wouldn't that mean that Castle on the low end would be like Josh Hart without a jump shot? That doesn't sound like a very good player to me. That sounds like Dyson Daniels, who is ok but not very good.

And by that logic, (since Josh Hart does have a jump shot but Castle right now does not) wouldn't that mean that if Castle does improve his jumper, that his ceiling is being the player Josh Hart is now? Just not sure there is much upside to be better than Josh Hart is now.

With that being said, Josh Hart right now is a very good player. If you know you're drafting a guy who will be as good as Josh Hart is now, you definitely take him in the top 10 of this draft class. But Josh Hart is also 29 yrs old and on his 4th NBA team.

NBA teams don't (or at least they shouldn't) draft based on how good a player will be 10 years from now, on their 4th NBA team. They must draft based on how good he projects to be on their 1st NBA team, in their first 2-3 yrs in the league..

Castle for his 1st NBA team in his first 2-2 yrs in the NBA (assuming he gets drafted in 2024) could look pretty rough..would likely look much closer to Dyson Daniels, Jaden Springer, Keon Johnson or Romeo Langford than he he looks like 29 yr old Josh Hart..

[Colbinii]

But Josh Hart *is* a pretty good shooter. Castle is not.

No he isn't. Career 34% on low volume (1624 career 3PA), 92% assists and 27% 3PA come from the corner.

Getting into mid-range, Hart is a career 32% Mid-Range shooter and 39% in the paint (Non-RA). Career 74% from the FT line is promising, but he came in as a 69-70% FT Shooter.

[JMAC3]

The thing with Castle is he is playing on the National Champs who brought back 3 starters. Dan Hurly was never going to just build the offense around a freshman guard, let alone when he has two senior guards..

To expect Castle to just kick them off the ball and run the show on a 31-3 team is probably not the right expectations to decide if he can play a lead guard role in the NBA. If Castle came back to college next year I would assume it very likely he played the point given the playmaking he has showcased.

[JustBuzzin]

Castle as a PG without a jump shot sounds like a bad idea.

I am unconvinced whether his athleticism and ball handling is acutally all that special. It seems like his profile would suggest it and he is a great athlete, but I'm not sure if he's an amazing athlete.

He's a sg complimentary kind of player. I see a guy with a high basketball IQ who can also play the secondary playmaker role. He's going to come in play defense and make the right play.

This draft doesn't have any stars imo. This might be the draft of the best role players.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Castle was a point guard coming out of high school. Not sure why people think he is a wing. He will for sure be a sg/pg at the next level.

Nah. HS different, man. For all we know, Castle only played PG in HS because he had no one else on his team who could handle the ball. Castle was the only guy on his HS team ranked in the ESPN top 100. 

NBA teams don't care that he played PG on a HS team with no other good players on it (and got blown out by Isaiah Collier's team).

They care much more about what position (and what role, what skills he shows) in college.

He's played basically not PG in college this season. He's shown some flashes as a secondary ball handler but not as a primary. For the most part he's been used by UConn as a wing. Catching lobs, getting the ball at the elbows, turning, facing up and attacking the basket (like we see from guys like Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, etc.), occasionally hitting spot up 3's, scoring inside out of the dunker's spot, finishing int rasition..

He's been used quite a bit this season like UConn used Andre Jackson Jr last season.. except not as good as Jackson at basically everything (except shooting where they were both not good)..

this is false. Castle has quite literally played PG and ran the offense, in stretches, of pretty much every single game he's played in. In those instances he's brought the ball up the court, he's initiated their motion offense from the top of the key or run PnR as the lead ball handler. Essentially exactly what a point guard does at the next level. All you have to do is watch a single game of theirs this season to see this.

[LofJ]

Castle as a PG without a jump shot sounds like a bad idea.

I am unconvinced whether his athleticism and ball handling is acutally all that special. It seems like his profile would suggest it and he is a great athlete, but I'm not sure if he's an amazing athlete.

He's a sg complimentary kind of player. I see a guy with a high basketball IQ who can also play the secondary playmaker role. He's going to come in play defense and make the right play.

This draft doesn't have any stars imo. This might be the draft of the best role players.

There's nothing preventing guys who project to be good role players from developing into something more than that. The 2011 draft is a great example of that. Kawhi, Klay, and Butler were all viewed as guys lacking star level talent but they were good enough all-around players that they were able to get on the court and develop.

If I was a GM I'd rather draft a guy that I'm confident can do a lot of things well enough to not kill you over a player that's great at one or two things, but terrible at everything else. Guys with well-rounded games are underrated.

[EmpireFalls]

Castle was a point guard coming out of high school. Not sure why people think he is a wing. He will for sure be a sg/pg at the next level.

Nah. HS different, man. For all we know, Castle only played PG in HS because he had no one else on his team who could handle the ball. Castle was the only guy on his HS team ranked in the ESPN top 100. 

NBA teams don't care that he played PG on a HS team with no other good players on it (and got blown out by Isaiah Collier's team).

They care much more about what position (and what role, what skills he shows) in college.

He's played basically not PG in college this season. He's shown some flashes as a secondary ball handler but not as a primary. For the most part he's been used by UConn as a wing. Catching lobs, getting the ball at the elbows, turning, facing up and attacking the basket (like we see from guys like Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, etc.), occasionally hitting spot up 3's, scoring inside out of the dunker's spot, finishing int rasition..

He's been used quite a bit this season like UConn used Andre Jackson Jr last season.. except not as good as Jackson at basically everything (except shooting where they were both not good)..

this is false. Castle has quite literally played PG and ran the offense, in stretches, of pretty much every single game he's played in. In those instances he's brought the ball up the court, he's initiated their motion offense from the top of the key or run PnR as the lead ball handler. Essentially exactly what a point guard does at the next level. All you have to do is watch a single game of theirs this season to see this.

Are you really going to build an NBA offense around that though? What does he do that earns him primary ball-handling duties?

How does he create advantages?

[Hal14]

The thing with Castle is he is playing on the National Champs who brought back 3 starters.

2 starters - only Karaban and Newton. And those 2 were both pretty minor role players on last year' titles team. Newton might not get drafted. Karaban might only be a 2nd round pick - or he may return for his junior season.

Spencer is just a shooter. Not a high usage ball handler.

Newton is a good player but he's not a stud. And with his size at 6'5", he's easily a guy you could just move over to the wing.

Castle is arguable the best freshman player in the country. If he was a PG, he'd be playing PG for his college team. At least more PG than he has played this season.

When Duhon was a freshman at Duke, he didn't get a ton of reps at PG because they had Jay Williams, of course. But Duhon played more PG that season than Castle has played this season. Duhon got *all* the PG reps anytime Jay Williams was out of the game, and he would sometimes bring the ball up and initiate the offense, even when Jay was in the game (whether it was to take the pressure of Jay for a play or 2, to give the opposing defense a different look, or to play Jay off ball since he was such a good shooter)

Also, Jay Williams was arguably the best player in college basketball, the no. 2 pick in the draft so was MUCH better than Tristen Newton is.

Another Duke example but last season Proctor got a good amount of PG reps (way more PG reps than we've seen this season from Castle) as a freshman, even with Jeremy Roach on the team.

TyTy Washington joined Kentucky. They already had a freshman, Savir Wheeler. Cal was loyal to the older, more experienced guard. Started Wheeler most of the time. But Washington still got plenty of PG reps, way more PG reps than Castle has gotten. And it was even clear later in the season that Washington was much better at running the team's offense than Wheeler...and Washington was still just a late 1st round pick who got waived and is now stuck in the G league. We're supposed to pencil Castle in as a PG, take him in the top 10, when he's getting way less PG reps than Washington?

Same thing with JD Davison. Bama had Quinerly, the veteran PG. Oates ended up flip flopping quite a bit, sometime starting Quinerly at PG, sometimes starting Davison. Sometimes playing them together. Again, JD got way more PG reps than Castle got..and Davison was the 53rd pick, stuck in the G league for Boston.

To expect Castle to just kick them off the ball and run the show on a 31-3 team is probably not the right expectations to decide if he can play a lead guard role in the NBA.

Well then Castle should return for his sophomore season and show us he can play lead guard.

If Castle came back to college next year I would assume it very likely he played the point given the playmaking he has showcased.

That sounds like a dangerous assumption.

You know what they say. When you assume, you make a you know what out of u and me..

Sounds nice in theory that maybe Castle would play PG if he returned for his sophomore season at Uconn and maybe he would be great at it. But it's just a theory. It's not reality. It's a woulda coulda shoulda. Maybe, maybe not. I think a team drafting in the lottery (or especially in the top 5 or 10 picks) would prefer to have more certainty and not draft based on a hope and a prayer.

[JustBuzzin]

Nah. HS different, man. For all we know, Castle only played PG in HS because he had no one else on his team who could handle the ball. Castle was the only guy on his HS team ranked in the ESPN top 100. 

NBA teams don't care that he played PG on a HS team with no other good players on it (and got blown out by Isaiah Collier's team).

They care much more about what position (and what role, what skills he shows) in college.

He's played basically not PG in college this season. He's shown some flashes as a secondary ball handler but not as a primary. For the most part he's been used by UConn as a wing. Catching lobs, getting the ball at the elbows, turning, facing up and attacking the basket (like we see from guys like Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, etc.), occasionally hitting spot up 3's, scoring inside out of the dunker's spot, finishing int rasition..

He's been used quite a bit this season like UConn used Andre Jackson Jr last season.. except not as good as Jackson at basically everything (except shooting where they were both not good)..

this is false. Castle has quite literally played PG and ran the offense, in stretches, of pretty much every single game he's played in. In those instances he's brought the ball up the court, he's initiated their motion offense from the top of the key or run PnR as the lead ball handler. Essentially exactly what a point guard does at the next level. All you have to do is watch a single game of theirs this season to see this.

Are you really going to build an NBA offense around that though? What does he do that earns him primary ball-handling duties?

How does he create advantages?

Better question who in this draft are you building an offense around?

This isn't that kind of draft.

[JustBuzzin]

The thing with Castle is he is playing on the National Champs who brought back 3 starters.

2 starters - only Karaban and Newton. And those 2 were both pretty minor role players on last year' titles team. Newton might not get drafted. Karaban might only be a 2nd round pick - or he may return for his junior season.

Spencer is just a shooter. Not a high usage ball handler.

Newton is a good player but he's not a stud. And with his size at 6'5", he's easily a guy you could just move over to the wing.

Castle is arguable the best freshman player in the country. If he was a PG, he'd be playing PG for his college team. At least more PG than he has played this season.

When Duhon was a freshman at Duke, he didn't get a ton of reps at PG because they had Jay Williams, of course. But Duhon played more PG that season than Castle has played this season. Duhon got *all* the PG reps anytime Jay Williams was out of the game, and he would sometimes bring the ball up and initiate the offense, even when Jay was in the game (whether it was to take the pressure of Jay for a play or 2, to give the opposing defense a different look, or to play Jay off ball since he was such a good shooter)

Also, Jay Williams was arguably the best player in college basketball, the no. 2 pick in the draft so was MUCH better than Tristen Newton is.

Another Duke example but last season Proctor got a good amount of PG reps (way more PG reps than we've seen this season from Castle) as a freshman, even with Jeremy Roach on the team.

TyTy Washington joined Kentucky. They already had a freshman, Savir Wheeler. Cal was loyal to the older, more experienced guard. Started Wheeler most of the time. But Washington still got plenty of PG reps, way more PG reps than Castle has gotten. And it was even clear later in the season that Washington was much better at running the team's offense than Wheeler...and Washington was still just a late 1st round pick who got waived and is now stuck in the G league. We're supposed to pencil Castle in as a PG, take him in the top 10, when he's getting way less PG reps than Washington?

Same thing with JD Davison. Bama had Quinerly, the veteran PG. Oates ended up flip flopping quite a bit, sometime starting Quinerly at PG, sometimes starting Davison. Sometimes playing them together. Again, JD got way more PG reps than Castle got..and Davison was the 53rd pick, stuck in the G league for Boston.

To expect Castle to just kick them off the ball and run the show on a 31-3 team is probably not the right expectations to decide if he can play a lead guard role in the NBA.

Well then Castle should return for his sophomore season and show us he can play lead guard.

If Castle came back to college next year I would assume it very likely he played the point given the playmaking he has showcased.

That sounds like a dangerous assumption.

You know what they say. When you assume, you make a you know what out of u and me..

Sounds nice in theory that maybe Castle would play PG if he returned for his sophomore season at Uconn and maybe he would be great at it. But it's just a theory. It's not reality. It's a woulda coulda shoulda. Maybe, maybe not. I think a team drafting in the lottery (or especially in the top 5 or 10 picks) would prefer to have more certainty and not draft based on a hope and a prayer.

Why return to school when he's already a top 10 pick?

I can see if he was projected to go late 1st, but he's projected to go top 10. Is going back to school only to jump up a few more spots worth it?

[Hal14]

The thing with Castle is he is playing on the National Champs who brought back 3 starters.

2 starters - only Karaban and Newton. And those 2 were both pretty minor role players on last year' titles team. Newton might not get drafted. Karaban might only be a 2nd round pick - or he may return for his junior season.

Spencer is just a shooter. Not a high usage ball handler.

Newton is a good player but he's not a stud. And with his size at 6'5", he's easily a guy you could just move over to the wing.

Castle is arguable the best freshman player in the country. If he was a PG, he'd be playing PG for his college team. At least more PG than he has played this season.

When Duhon was a freshman at Duke, he didn't get a ton of reps at PG because they had Jay Williams, of course. But Duhon played more PG that season than Castle has played this season. Duhon got *all* the PG reps anytime Jay Williams was out of the game, and he would sometimes bring the ball up and initiate the offense, even when Jay was in the game (whether it was to take the pressure of Jay for a play or 2, to give the opposing defense a different look, or to play Jay off ball since he was such a good shooter)

Also, Jay Williams was arguably the best player in college basketball, the no. 2 pick in the draft so was MUCH better than Tristen Newton is.

Another Duke example but last season Proctor got a good amount of PG reps (way more PG reps than we've seen this season from Castle) as a freshman, even with Jeremy Roach on the team.

TyTy Washington joined Kentucky. They already had a freshman, Savir Wheeler. Cal was loyal to the older, more experienced guard. Started Wheeler most of the time. But Washington still got plenty of PG reps, way more PG reps than Castle has gotten. And it was even clear later in the season that Washington was much better at running the team's offense than Wheeler...and Washington was still just a late 1st round pick who got waived and is now stuck in the G league. We're supposed to pencil Castle in as a PG, take him in the top 10, when he's getting way less PG reps than Washington?

Same thing with JD Davison. Bama had Quinerly, the veteran PG. Oates ended up flip flopping quite a bit, sometime starting Quinerly at PG, sometimes starting Davison. Sometimes playing them together. Again, JD got way more PG reps than Castle got..and Davison was the 53rd pick, stuck in the G league for Boston.

To expect Castle to just kick them off the ball and run the show on a 31-3 team is probably not the right expectations to decide if he can play a lead guard role in the NBA.

Well then Castle should return for his sophomore season and show us he can play lead guard.

If Castle came back to college next year I would assume it very likely he played the point given the playmaking he has showcased.

That sounds like a dangerous assumption.

You know what they say. When you assume, you make a you know what out of u and me..

Sounds nice in theory that maybe Castle would play PG if he returned for his sophomore season at Uconn and maybe he would be great at it. But it's just a theory. It's not reality. It's a woulda coulda shoulda. Maybe, maybe not. I think a team drafting in the lottery (or especially in the top 5 or 10 picks) would prefer to have more certainty and not draft based on a hope and a prayer.

Why return to school when he's already a top 10 pick?

I can see if he was projected to go late 1st, but he's projected to go top 10. Is going back to school only to jump up a few more spots worth it?

That was a rhetorical question. Obviously if he's projected top 10 pick, he's gonna stay in the draft.

I'm simply saying that if I'm an NBA team, I wouldn't draft a guy based on him playing PG for my NBA team, unless he played significant mins as a PG in college. Especially if I'm using a top 10 pick on him. Too much risk with a pick that high.

But since he hasn't played much PG at all this season, and he's mostly been used as a wing...then I (as an NBA team) would be drafting based on him being a wing (with some upside/potential that he could *maybe* end up being a PG down the road but I wouldn't be banking my franchise's future on that).. unless he returns for sophomore season and plays lots of PG then..but that's not gonna happen so it's a moot point.

[JustBuzzin]

2 starters - only Karaban and Newton. And those 2 were both pretty minor role players on last year' titles team. Newton might not get drafted. Karaban might only be a 2nd round pick - or he may return for his junior season.

Spencer is just a shooter. Not a high usage ball handler.

Newton is a good player but he's not a stud. And with his size at 6'5", he's easily a guy you could just move over to the wing.

Castle is arguable the best freshman player in the country. If he was a PG, he'd be playing PG for his college team. At least more PG than he has played this season.

When Duhon was a freshman at Duke, he didn't get a ton of reps at PG because they had Jay Williams, of course. But Duhon played more PG that season than Castle has played this season. Duhon got *all* the PG reps anytime Jay Williams was out of the game, and he would sometimes bring the ball up and initiate the offense, even when Jay was in the game (whether it was to take the pressure of Jay for a play or 2, to give the opposing defense a different look, or to play Jay off ball since he was such a good shooter)

Also, Jay Williams was arguably the best player in college basketball, the no. 2 pick in the draft so was MUCH better than Tristen Newton is.

Another Duke example but last season Proctor got a good amount of PG reps (way more PG reps than we've seen this season from Castle) as a freshman, even with Jeremy Roach on the team.

TyTy Washington joined Kentucky. They already had a freshman, Savir Wheeler. Cal was loyal to the older, more experienced guard. Started Wheeler most of the time. But Washington still got plenty of PG reps, way more PG reps than Castle has gotten. And it was even clear later in the season that Washington was much better at running the team's offense than Wheeler...and Washington was still just a late 1st round pick who got waived and is now stuck in the G league. We're supposed to pencil Castle in as a PG, take him in the top 10, when he's getting way less PG reps than Washington?

Same thing with JD Davison. Bama had Quinerly, the veteran PG. Oates ended up flip flopping quite a bit, sometime starting Quinerly at PG, sometimes starting Davison. Sometimes playing them together. Again, JD got way more PG reps than Castle got..and Davison was the 53rd pick, stuck in the G league for Boston.


Well then Castle should return for his sophomore season and show us he can play lead guard.


That sounds like a dangerous assumption.

You know what they say. When you assume, you make a you know what out of u and me..

Sounds nice in theory that maybe Castle would play PG if he returned for his sophomore season at Uconn and maybe he would be great at it. But it's just a theory. It's not reality. It's a woulda coulda shoulda. Maybe, maybe not. I think a team drafting in the lottery (or especially in the top 5 or 10 picks) would prefer to have more certainty and not draft based on a hope and a prayer.

Why return to school when he's already a top 10 pick?

I can see if he was projected to go late 1st, but he's projected to go top 10. Is going back to school only to jump up a few more spots worth it?

That was a rhetorical question. Obviously if he's projected top 10 pick, he's gonna stay in the draft.

I'm simply saying that if I'm an NBA team, I wouldn't draft a guy based on him playing PG for my NBA team, unless he played significant mins as a PG in college. Especially if I'm using a top 10 pick on him. Too much risk with a pick that high.

But since he hasn't played much PG at all this season, and he's mostly been used as a wing...then I (as an NBA team) would be drafting based on him being a wing (with some upside/potential that he could *maybe* end up being a PG down the road but I wouldn't be banking my franchise's future on that).. unless he returns for sophomore season and plays lots of PG then..but that's not gonna happen so it's a moot point.

Pretty sure he will be a sg at the NBA level. His secondary position will probably be pg. He's closer to 6'4 than 6'6.

[DOT]

But Josh Hart *is* a pretty good shooter. Castle is not.

No he isn't. Career 34% on low volume (1624 career 3PA), 92% assists and 27% 3PA come from the corner.

Getting into mid-range, Hart is a career 32% Mid-Range shooter and 39% in the paint (Non-RA). Career 74% from the FT line is promising, but he came in as a 69-70% FT Shooter.

Josh Hart has had 2 seasons of above average percentages from 3

His rookie year where he shot 39.6%, and 2023 where he shot 37.2%

In those two years, he was 153rd and 205th in total 3s attempted

I watch this guy play every night. Teams just leave him open from 3 and he's scared to shoot. He is absolutely not a "pretty good" 3pt shooter. His averages aren't awful, but that's because he won't take a 3 unless he's completely wide open.

[JMAC3]

I don't really care if Castle plays pg, the point is he can if you need him to. Maybe his best position is a 2 guard that can make plays. He is versatile, he probably is big enough to guard a lot of NBA 3 mans too.

He reminds me a lot of Anthony Black to be honest.

[BlazersBroncos]

What is his ceiling if Castle 'hits'? Something like Derrick White w/ a worse 3?