BOSTON — A lot stood out for Dan Hurley when recruiting Stephon Castle.
his athletic ability. His overall skill set. And his incredibly high benefits.
He also had his support system, especially his mother Quanette and father Stacey.
“I met his parents. I saw them ripping his stuff over and over again,” Hurley said. “His parents are not fans. They put the responsibility on him to have an elite work ethic, be coached, and don’t think the world revolves around him at 17, 18 years old. I believe.”
The 6-foot-6 Castle is a top-10 prospect from Covington, Ga., but he certainly doesn’t have the me-first qualities that many elite prospects have.
The well-rounded freshman guard opted to join a winning program with established veterans at the University of Connecticut, rather than going somewhere where he could immediately put up monster numbers.
For the Huskies, he was primarily a defender and a scorer second, helping the top-seeded Huskies reach the Elite Eight.
He is rarely the first, second or even third goal scorer.
However, that did not negatively impact his NBA draft stock.
Castle is still projected to be a lottery pick and is looking for his best at the right time.
On Thursday night, he recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the top-seeded Huskies’ 82-52 win over fifth-seeded San Diego State at TD Garden. Achieved.
That came after he locked down No. 9 seed Northwestern’s star guard Bou Bouye in the second round to win.
“It’s not really a selfish culture,” said Castle, who is averaging 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in three tournament games. “Really, for me, it wasn’t really about thinking about my stats or thinking about how well I played. Anything I could do to help the team win. I just did it, and I feel like everyone else had a similar approach. If you try to stand out and be selfish, you’re going to stand out for the wrong reasons.”
By accepting his role and fulfilling it, Castle experiences the best of both worlds.
He was a national champion as a freshman and could be a high draft pick.
It’s clear there’s more to his game than he’s shown thus far as a Husky.
However, he has also shown the ability to work well with elite teammates, which NBA teams will no doubt appreciate and appreciate.
His parents were also very important in making him understand that.
“Other parents, when they look at their kids, they want the best for their kids, but they also want their kids to make every shot and be the star of the team.” said Castle. “They’ve been real to me all my life. They don’t sugar coat anything to me. They push me to work hard and are incredible supporters.”
