SAN ANTONIO — Why the San Antonio Spurs selected guard Stephon Castle at No. 4 in the NBA Draft is easy to understand.
He's 6-foot-6 and averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists with Connecticut in the regular season.
Add his incredible defensive skills, and the Spurs may have found their point guard for the rebuild.
However, the Spurs had Castle on their radar before he laced up his sneakers for the Huskies.
Try since high school, when a younger Castle was unaware San Antonio had him on their scouting radar.
"When I'm in high school, I'm just thinking about playing," he said. "Now I know they've been watching me for a long time."
Castle will likely immediately impact San Antonio once he gets some NBA experience.
He also comes from a winning program, coached by one of the best college coaches, Dan Hurley, and played for the 2022 Team USA FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship, winning a gold medal.
But beyond stats, numbers, and other metrics, Castle has a character that'll fit in with the Spurs.
"That willingness to sacrifice and he was always he's he's kind of like a quiet, stoic type of personality," General Manager Brian Wright said. "So you try to pick up little things along the way that tell you about him as a teammate."
Those attributes of Castle's character as a teammate have been noted since he was in high school.
San Antonio had been watching his development before he moved to UConn and was left impressed about his potential fit with the team.
"It wasn't like this was the first time we'd heard of him. We'd seen him in the high school scene. He was a pretty highly-rated high school player. And so we tried to spend as much time with those guys as possible and get to know him," Wright said.
Now in San Antonio, Castle is grateful for the opportunity to make it to the pro level.
"I'm just super grateful for the position that I am in," he said. "I know that a lot of kids, especially at the high school age, they don't look too far ahead."
"Just now, looking back at that time, I wouldn't expect to be in the position I am in now."
In Castle, the Spurs GM noted his willingness to know his role, which will fit well, knowing that this is Victor Wembanyama's team.
"That ability to sacrifice for the betterment of the team is something that stood out to us as well," he said. "Because that's something you're gonna have to do across the course of your career."
"That stood out as a great quality, but he's tough. He's smart. He's a team-first guy. He's a hard worker."
Castle's play with a stacked UConn team should help his transition into the Spurs. He's played with a big man - Donovan Clingan - and is familiar with deferring for the team's betterment as the Huskies marched to the 2024 NCAA title.
"It didn't matter if he had 18 points in that game or six points. He was fired up for his teammates," he said. " What's he like in that locker room, and there were just a lot of positives."
It remains to be seen if Castle is the right point guard for the franchise's rebuild.
Transitioning from college to the NBA and adapting to the physicality and rigors of the league tests all.
But he's done the work and is ready for his opportunity in San Antonio.
"With all the hard work that I've put in, I feel like it's all paid off," Castle added.
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