Castle BE Freshman of the week | The Boneyard

Castle BE Freshman of the week

Kinda surprised, but it looks like he may be turning the corner and that award might be going to him more often than not for the rest of the season
 
Hurley promising Val he'll chill on the sidelines in exchange for getting Castle going? I'll take it
 
i was surprised to see this! he was obviously incredible in clutch time during the st. john's game, but had a rough first half and a bad game at seton hall. this may speak to a lack of other freshmen performers last week.

i have been tracking the big east weekly honors in a separate thread. posting the updated tracker here in case anyone is curious:

PlayerTeamPOTWFOTWHonor Role
Pierre BrooksButler1
Jahmyl TelfortButler2
Trey AlexanderCreighton11
Baylor ScheiermanCreighton11
Chico CarterDePaul1
Rowan BrumbaughGeorgetown1
Dontrez StylesGeorgetown1
Jayden EppsGeorgetown1
Kam JonesMarquette1
Tyler KolekMarquette12
Oso IghodaroMarquette1
Devin CarterPeeCee12
Bryce HopkinsPeeCee3
Kadary RichmondSeton Hall2
Al-Amir DawesSeton Hall11
Isaiah ColemanSeton Hall2
Joel SorianoSt. John's4
Donovan ClinganUConn1
Stephon CastleUConn2
Alex KarabanUConn2
Tristen NewtonUConn3
Solomon BallUConn1
Eric DixonVillanova11
Tyler BurtonVillanova1
Desmond ClaudeXavier1
Lazar DjokovicXavier1
Quincy OlivariXavier3
 
Don't need Castle knocking down three's. Need him to work on his strength's, which is getting to the rim and hitting mid-range jumpers. Both of which he's been inconsistent with, but has shown flashes of brilliance at times.

UConn has more than enough three point shooters. If he can work on his mid-range game, becoming a weapon that the opposition needs to focus on defensively, that'll open up our three point shooters. The opposition won't be able to sell out defensively at the three point line as has been happening.

That was the move that changed everything last year. Getting AJ away from the three point line, instead making him a weapon that the opposition had to account for in the box. Castle can be the perfect player for pulling the opposition D off the three point line, freeing up our shooters.
 
For anyone wondering, here's why Castle might have won Freshman of the Week. A few snapshots from the St. John's game.

6:30 to go, UC 56-53. Castle reenters game with 4 fouls, zero pts. Drives baseline, fouled, makes 2 FT's.
5:10 to go, UC 59-57. Castle, closely guarded, fakes, hesitates, drives from the key, Makes contested lay-up.
3:35 to go, SJ 63-61. Castle leaps high above rebound scrum for tying tap-in.
3:10 to go, 63-63. Johnson deflects StJ shot, Castle picks ball cleanly out of the air, brings ball up to initiate scoring possession..
1:59 to go UC 65-63: Castle breaks ahead of the field, converts half-court pass into driving lay-up

In all, Castle scored 8 of the 11 UConn points that turned 56-53 lead under seven minutes into 67-63 lead with under two minutes.

In Chess lingo, the headline might read: "White castles, prevails in end game." Or, to put it another way, "Hurley finally wins a close one."
 
If he can develop a consistent mid range shot, then he won’t have to try driving all the way in every time. Then the bigs won't be able to sit back waiting for his point blank attempt every time. Hope he does as it would really expand his game and display his great abilities!
 
Castle will be fine, he’s just pressing a little because he probably feels behind. You can see he’s REALLY good. He does everything except he needs to work on his shot. Next two to three games he’ll be comfortable and we’ll see the real him.
 
uconnever said:
Castle will be fine, he’s just pressing a little because he probably feels behind. You can see he’s REALLY good. He does everything except he needs to work on his shot. Next two to three games he’ll be comfortable and we’ll see the real him.
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2 of next 3 with lesser opponents so it’s a good chance to get going.
 
HooperScooper said:
Butler or Xavier? 2 of the next 3 are those 2 on the road. You would think anyone on here would know better than to dismiss anyone in the Big East that is at home. And Butler is much improved this season. That game will be tough.
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I was going to say the same thing along those lines. DePaul at Gampel/XL Center should be a layup and I will be disappointed if it is not. Butler at Hinkle will be a challenge even with Clingan. Butler should've beaten Providence at the AMP if not for tying 3 pointer with 2 seconds left by Ticket Gaines. The days of leaving Butler to shoot from the perimeter knowing a defensive rebound would be a sure thing are over-they have some dead eye shooters and some 1 on 1 creators. Only 9% of the scoring from last year are back on this team-it's completely revamped and for the better.

Meanwhile, Xavier at the Cintas Center is tough and they beat Seton Hall by 20 after Seton Hall dusted UConn. Yes, I know it's a little apples and oranges because Xavier played Seton Hall at home whereas UConn played Seton Hall in Newark. But the point still stands-Xavier at the Cintas Center will be tough.
 
Chief00 said:
Due to the injury, Stephon is just getting started.
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I think it's fair to say that this has been your contention all along. And ditto, Donovan. As fundamentally important as Newton, Karaban and Spencer are, Castle and Clingan are special. They are our future lottery picks. If we can get these two guys on the floor together, healthy and rust-free, our team goes from good to transcendent
 
alexd said:
uconnhuskies.com

Castle Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week - University of Connecticut Athletics

NEW YORK – UConn men's basketball freshman Stephon Castle (Covington, Ga.) has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, the league office announced on Wedne...
uconnhuskies.com uconnhuskies.com
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LOL. For those always finding some way to prove that UConn is disrespected by the world, and pointing out every time someone doesn't win an award that they want to argue he should, here is evidence of the opposite. Of the 80 minutes of game time last week, Castle was really poor for the first 70 minutes before rising to the occasion for the last ten minutes against the Johnnies.
 
businesslawyer said:
LOL. For those always finding some way to prove that UConn is disrespected by the world, and pointing out every time someone doesn't win an award that they want to argue he should, here is evidence of the opposite. Of the 80 minutes of game time last week, Castle was really poor for the first 70 minutes before rising to the occasion for the last ten minutes against the Johnnies.
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Since the award is given every week, an argument that a given player did not deserve the award presumes that some other player deserved it more. You failed to name that player.
 
Sphinx said:
Since the award is given every week, an argument that a given player did not deserve the award presumes that some other player deserved it more. You failed to name that player.
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The more accurate statement based on @businesslawyer accurate assessment of Castle’s play last week is that the other BE freshman had to have played poorly in order for Castle to have received that award.
 

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