High School Notebook: Stephon Castle is on the Rise
Despite having been consistently ranked as a top 40 player in his class for a better part of the last two years, Stephon Castle is a name on the rise. Aided by an electric 41-point performance back in December against Duncanville, one of the top teams in the nation, the UConn commit has seen a boost in his recruiting ranking, now being considered as a near consensus top 10 player in the class of 2023.
Player Profile
Listed at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds, Castle has optimal size for a wing and could even play at the four in some lineups. While he’s not tremendously quick or explosive, he is extremely smooth and coordinated for his size, showing a great level of body control and fluidity to move through traffic, change directions and speeds with the ball in his hands.
Castle utilizes his physical tools to make an impact as a prolific scorer. His fluidity for his size makes him a tough match-up for opposing guards and wings at the high school level, as he can find his way to the rim not just by powering through defenders, but also by navigating through traffic and finding the open space while keeping control of the ball.
While Castle is not always able to get to the rim out of sheer quickness, he plays with incredible pace and is rarely rattled in a crowd, using hesitations and crossovers to move defenders off of their spots. Despite not always being able to create enough momentum for powerful finishes at the rim, he compensates to some degree with his level of hangtime and touch on floaters and other tough shots from the five to eight feet range from the basket.
Castle displays an excellent level of shotmaking from the perimeter, where he shows an incredible level of versatility for his age. Currently shooting 30.8% from 3 point range in his senior season according to Cerebro Sports’ database, he is attempting 11.6 shots from beyond the arc per 36 minutes. Not only the sheer volume, but the level of difficulty of his attempts bode well for his projection as a shooter at the next level.
Castle shows a tremendous ability to get to his spots and decelerate, which allows him to convert tough off-balance shots in the mid-range. From beyond the 3 point line, the UConn prospect uses his smooth ball handling ability to create space and set up jumpers. He’s also able to pull-up off screens, punishing defenders who give him space in the perimeter.
While his prolific scoring ability is outstanding, his passing for his 6-foot-7 size is nearly as, if not even more impressive.
While Newton doesn't run a ton of half-court offense, Castle does a good job of bringing the ball up and making decisions in transition and in the early offense, always looking for ways to advance the basketball and consistently looking for teammates filling the lanes.
Castle shows an impressive mix of vision and creativity as a passer, both when pushing the ball in transition and when making plays off a screen in the half-court. He is able to use his size to see over the top of the defense and connect with teammates all over the court. He plays with his head up on the move and is able to make creative one-hand deliveries that catch opposing defenses off guard, showing a knack for finding teammates who are seemingly two passes away.
NBA Questions and Projections
NBA teams will be keeping an eye on Castle as he goes into his freshman year at UConn, as the prospect of a jumbo wing who shows the offensive versatility to dribble, pass and shoot is extremely enticing.
With the only knock on his game being his explosiveness, which is likely not elite for NBA standards, he will need to prove that he can use his other elite physical traits (body control, deceleration and touch) to compensate for his lack of burst at the college level. The defense will also be an aspect to watch, as his current team plays a lot of zone and Castle plays mostly as an off-ball defender; it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the college game and how he performs if he’s asked to defend opponents in one-on-one situations.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.