Stephon Javonte Castle (born November 1, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class.
| No. 5 – San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | NBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | November 1, 2004 Covington, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Newton (Covington, Georgia) | ||||||||||||||
| College | UConn (2023–2024) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2024: 1st round, 4th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2024–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | San Antonio Spurs | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life and high school career
editCastle grew up in Covington, Georgia and attended Newton High School.[1] He averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game as a junior.[2] He finished his senior year averaging 20.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, three steals and two blocks per game to carry the Rams to the Class 7A state quarterfinals.[3] Castle was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year.[4]
Recruiting
editCastle was initially rated a four-star recruit by most recruiting services. On November 19, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for UConn during his junior year over offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Ohio State.[5] By the end of his senior year Castle had been re-rated as a five-star recruit.[6][7]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephon Castle PG / SG |
Covington, GA | Newton (GA) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 19, 2021 | |
Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 92
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| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 10 247Sports: 9 ESPN: 12 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
editCastle enrolled at UConn in June 2023.[8] He declared for the 2024 NBA draft on April 19, 2024.[9]
Professional career
editSan Antonio Spurs (2024–present)
editOn June 26, 2024, Castle was selected with the fourth overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2024 NBA draft[10] and on July 2, he signed with the Spurs.[11] He made his NBA Summer League debut on July 6, putting up 12 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 97–65 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.[12]
National team career
editCastle played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship.[13] He averaged 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as the United States won the gold medal.[14]
Personal life
editCastle is the son of Quannette and Stacey Castle. He has a younger sister, Staci, and an older brother, Quenton.[15] Castle's father, Stacey, was a teammate with Tim Duncan at Wake Forest during the 1993–94 season.[16]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | UConn | 34 | 30 | 27.0 | .472 | .267 | .755 | 4.7 | 2.9 | .8 | .5 | 11.1 |
References
edit- ^ Hubbard, Phillip B. (August 22, 2022). "Newton basketball star Stephon Castle celebrated across Newton County for gold medal". The Covington News. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Experts break down the game of UConn men's basketball 2023 commit Stephon Castle". Hartford Courant. April 23, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Divens, Jordan (March 29, 2023). "2022-23 MaxPreps All-America Team: Cameron Boozer of Columbus headlines high school basketball's best". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ^ "UConn men signee Castle named McDonald's All-American". Journal Inquirer. January 25, 2023. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ "Class of 2023 four-star guard Stephon Castle commits to UConn men's basketball". Hartford Courant. November 19, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ Stave, Stratton (May 10, 2023). "UConn Hoops Freshmen Intros -- Five-Star G Stephon Castle". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ Rissotto, Ignacio (March 3, 2023). "High School Notebook: Stephon Castle is on the Rise". SI.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ Butterfield, Christine (June 1, 2023). "UConn freshmen basketball players have arrived in Storrs: KK Arnold, Stephon Castle, and more". Connecticut Post. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Leahy, Sean (April 19, 2024). "UConn freshman guard Stephon Castle declares for 2024 NBA Draft". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ Sampson, Peter (June 26, 2024). "Victor Wembanyama's first message to Spurs' Stephon Castle after NBA Draft". ClutchPoints.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Luke (July 2, 2024). "Spurs Sign Stephon Castle To Rookie Scale Contract". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ Ledesma, Hector (July 15, 2024). "Spurs' Stephon Castle ruled out for NBA Summer League after injury scare". ClutchPoints. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ "UConn men's basketball commit Stephon Castle named to USA Basketball men's U18 roster". Hartford Courant. June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Hubbard, Phillip B. (June 15, 2022). "USA BASKETBALL: Castle, Team USA take gold". The Covington News. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "Stephon Castle - Men's Basketball". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Duarte, Jeph (June 30, 2024). "Stephon Castle's curious tie to Tim Duncan". SB Nation.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- UConn Huskies bio
- USA Basketball bio