University of Connecticut Athletics
Spotlight Shines On Castle In Huskies' 9th Straight Win
2/1/2024 7:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By PHIL CHARDIS
Special to uconnhuskies.com
STORRS – With the array of different basketball weapons in the arsenal of the No. 1-ranked UConn men's basketball team, perhaps it's not surprising that it took 21 games before Stephon Castle grabbed the spotlight.
But in Wednesday night's 74-65 victory over Providence, it was blinding.   Â
"Without Steph, we wouldn't have won this game," Tristen Newton said matter-of-factly.
Castle has been helping the Huskies win games all season, especially since he returned from minor knee surgery on Dec. 5 after missing six games and particularly since he returned to the starting lineup on. Dec. 23. But in Wednesday's rock fight at Gampel Pavilion, the strong, 6-6 freshman took charge with a career-high 20 points, 5 rebounds (3 offensive), and some effective, hard-nosed defense on Providence junior star Devin Carter.
UConn Coach Dan Hurley described it as Castle's coming-out party.
"Carter is one of the best guards in the country," Hurley said. "But the job that he (Castle) did on him defensively, up until he got in foul trouble and got 'vetted' a little bit – some veteran stuff by Carter at different points – but Steph saved us tonight. Steph saved us."
Castle's offensive work in the paint has been impressive, somehow creating lanes to the basket for hard drives or pull-up short jumpers. But his longrange shooting had been a weakness. But early in the second half against Providence, he swished back-to-back three-pointers to take the Huskies from a 34-31 deficit to a 37-34 lead – a lead they would never relinquish. Castle, in fact, has hit three of his last five three-point attempts.
"We couldn't really break away in the first half," Cam Spencer said. "Steph came out in the early second half and helped us get that six- or seven-point lead which we were able to keep for the rest of the second half. That was our breakaway point. Steph was great on both sides of the ball tonight."
If Castle can indeed add a reliable three-point shot to his repertoire, he becomes that much more difficult to guard and the Huskies become that much more difficult to defend. Castle has already been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week five times this season.
"The confidence my teammates gave me helped me offensively," Castle said. "I really don't try to hunt shots. I just try to play through the offense. I see how they're guarding me and I just try not to settle and don't allow that to stop me from getting (into the) paint and playing my game."
Castle's 20-point performance helped seal UConn's ninth straight win and put the cap on a perfect month of January (8-0). It also lifted Castle's season average to 10.3 ppg, giving the Huskies five double-figure scorers (Newton, Spencer, Alex Karaban, Donovan Clingan) heading into Saturday's game against St. John's at Madison Square Garden.
Perhaps even more importantly, it gave Hurley an excuse to talk about his star freshman beyond his basketball talents.
"The thing about this kid is, he's not reading mock (NBA) drafts, he's not huddling up with his agent, or NIL, or whatever that whole thing is," Hurley said. "He's just got parents at home who tell him, 'If you're coaches tell you to screen, screen … if your coaches tell you to play the five, play the five .. or play the four..' For a kid of his stature and pedigree coming in and the position that he's in in terms of the prospect and everything.. he's just like doing whatever we ask him to do.
"As he's learned more about how to play college basketball, get used to the physicality, understand the terminology, understand the different nuances of defense, offense … it's like he's still an emerging player, but he's not acting like an entitled, five-star recruit who thinks the world revolves around him. He wants to please UConn and I think that's beautiful."
It's worth nothing that Castle is just 18 years old with only 15 games of college basketball experience. By contrast, the player he was assigned to check on Wednesday will be 22 next month and has played 83 college games at two different high-level Division I programs.
With 10 regular-season games remaining and postseason games to follow, there is plenty of spotlight to be had. The more it shines on Stephon Castle, the better for UConn.
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