College Stock Watch: UConn's Stephon Castle
In just over a month, regular season play will end at the collegiate level. At that time, conference tournaments will take place before the NCAA Tournament takes over televisions across the country. While both of those big events in March can be times in which NBA prospects can truly increase their draft stock, standard conference play is also extremely important.
Most college teams have played double-digit conference games at this point, which is enough of a sample size for talent evaluators to really get a sense of what type of prospect each of these NBA hopefuls are.
Whose stock has risen? What about fallen?
This week, we look at the draft stock of UConn guard Stephon Castle based on recent play.
Stephon Castle (UConn | Guard)
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Stock: Rising
Season Stats: 10.9 PPG | 4.6 RPG | 3.3 APG | 32.3% 3PT
At 6-foot-6, Castle is a jumbo guard who fits the same archetype as many of the top backcourt players in the NBA. As a true freshman, he struggled some early in the season as he adjusted to the college level, but has more recently emerged as a star. What made the transition to the college level even more difficult was the fact that he was playing a primary role for a top team in the country that was coming off of a championship, but he's risen to the occasion and will now be a key piece of the Huskies' efforts in repeating this March.
Through the first seven games of Castle's freshman season, he averaged just 8.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 45.5% from the floor, including 12.5% from beyond the arc.
Since then, the 19-year-old has produced 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while converting on over 39% of his attempts from deep through nine games. He has also turned things up on the defensive end, leveraging his size and length to be disruptive and shut down opposing offenses. Castle has earned a 79 DSI from Cerebro Sports this season, which speaks to his impact on that end of the floor. He has also become a permanent starter, taking the floor at tip-off in every single game since the turn of the calendar year.
While his statistics have been much better of late, Castle's stock rising goes well beyond the numbers. When watching him play, it's clear that he's really hit his stride and is much more comfortable on the floor. Being a starter on the No. 1 team in the country is no easy task, but he is thriving now that he has found his footing.
As much as Castle's stock has risen — as he's once again a projected top 10 pick — continuing to play at this level into the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament will only solidify him as arguably the best guard in this entire draft class.
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