NBA Bound Stephan

[UConnSwag11]

Jalen Adams couldn't finish with his left hand.

Didn’t have to

 

[HuskyHawk]

So all 1-and-dones will one day be top scorers in the NBA?

No, but almost all NBA superstars are one and dones or young Internationals. Lots of serviceable rotation guys stay longer but not guys who become stars. It’s not that complicated.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Ehh even after tonight I have my concerns. He’s in his own head, a lot. You’ll see a player try to dap him up and he doesn’t even notice it. I’ve never seen him initiate a high five or give any real positive energy, not exactly Hassan out there. He has focus problems, the rest of the offense will be in a set he’ll be standing there then suddenly snap out of it and remember what he had to do and get to his spot. This offense requires a lot of quick thinking, if you don’t have the drive to learn it fast or a high volume of reps it can be overwhelming. He’s much better with the ball in his hands. Like I said tho, best traits of any guard we‘ve ever had, his iso man defense is incredible, teams need to confuse him with switches to get anything off on him.

I honestly have no idea what you’re seeing.

 

[Huskybass]

Ehh even after tonight I have my concerns. He’s in his own head, a lot. You’ll see a player try to dap him up and he doesn’t even notice it. I’ve never seen him initiate a high five or give any real positive energy, not exactly Hassan out there. He has focus problems, the rest of the offense will be in a set he’ll be standing there then suddenly snap out of it and remember what he had to do and get to his spot. This offense requires a lot of quick thinking, if you don’t have the drive to learn it fast or a high volume of reps it can be overwhelming. He’s much better with the ball in his hands. Like I said tho, best traits of any guard we‘ve ever had, his iso man defense is incredible, teams need to confuse him with switches to get anything off on him.

For a kid who just played his 9th college game he is damn good. 14 and 9 on the road against a pretty good team...can you realistically ask for more?

 

[tzznandrew]

Third game back as a starter. It’s almost like guys just need some time to settle in or something. He’s going to be so good by the end of the year.

It's unreal the absolute hot takes people have here. A freshman was hurt and missed a bunch of games and practices. Of course he wasn't going to look perfect.

12-5-2
17-8-5

That's what he put up the first two games. Then he was injured and didn't come back for nearly a month. When he finally worked himself back into the starting lineup, he has done:

8-7-2 vs St. John's
14-4-7 vs DePaul
14-9-4 vs Butler

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's more indicative of his talent and ability than the in between games when he was working himself back from an injury.

And he's only going to get better.

If Clingan comes back healthy—and everyone stays healthy—this team is going to the E8/FF and probably repeating. And Castle is a big reason.

 

[tzznandrew]

He can take anyone to the rim.

And he's the only one who can do that consistently in Big East games on this team. Outside of Big East games—where refs don't necessarily let you mug the ball handler—Newton can too. But we saw this happen last year. The difference in our Big East regular season/BET ceiling is a kid like Castle who can essentially get where he wants even if he's being ridden a bit harder than will be allowed elsewhere.

 

[Excalibur]

Saying that Castle isn’t engaged or working is LOL funny.

 

[TeasenDonut]

Steph is going to get so much better throughout the season. And we absolutely do not win that game without him.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

No, but almost all NBA superstars are one and dones or young Internationals. Lots of serviceable rotation guys stay longer but not guys who become stars. It’s not that complicated.

It is that complicated. Some teams tie up 5 to 7 years or more of massive cap dollars waiting for a player to maybe develop, and for every 1 and done that makes it, 10 don't and just burn dollars and time.

Further, while there has been some accuracy with the top pick or two (although nowhere close to what it was 30 years ago), the whole draft turns into a crapshoot pretty quickly. Whoever used Giannis as part of his logic for how 1 and dones are great should stop posting about basketball or logic. That draft was a horror show, with top players coming from all over the draft. That happens quite a bit now, because one and dones are very hard to evaluate. So what is the benefit of a high draft pick in a world of 1 and dones if the 5th pick is not significantly more likely to be a star than the 15th pick?

Or, an NBA GM could just wait for free agency or trade the picks rather than waste millions on 19 year olds who are likely to flame out. Look at the last few offseasons. More and more NBA GMs are choosing this path.

 

[Scottobot]

No, but almost all NBA superstars are one and dones or young Internationals. Lots of serviceable rotation guys stay longer but not guys who become stars. It’s not that complicated.

I don’t think that is accurate .. Kauai Leonard, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Halliburton, Damian Lillard just a few of the nba stars who,played more than one season in college.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

It's unreal the absolute hot takes people have here. A freshman was hurt and missed a bunch of games and practices. Of course he wasn't going to look perfect.

12-5-2
17-8-5

That's what he put up the first two games. Then he was injured and didn't come back for nearly a month. When he finally worked himself back into the starting lineup, he has done:

8-7-2 vs St. John's
14-4-7 vs DePaul
14-9-4 vs Butler

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's more indicative of his talent and ability than the in between games when he was working himself back from an injury.

And he's only going to get better.

If Clingan comes back healthy—and everyone stays healthy—this team is going to the E8/FF and probably repeating. And Castle is a big reason.

E8 easily. As he starts to get more rhythm and confidence in his jumpshot too that should start to come around as well making him more dangerous.. he’s not going to be a 35% 3 point shooter. But I expect he should be a lot better from the midrange by the end of the year.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

That's simply not true. 20 of 30 players drafted in the first round in 2017 are still playing in the NBA. You make yourself an easy target by posting things that simply are not true.

Pointing out that "only" 10 first round picks from a draft only 6 years ago are gone from the League altogether is not the mic drop you think it is.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Can we just accept this guy (SC) has some skills that already make him nba ready. He is just scratching the surface of what he is going to by the end of this month. By the end of February who knows how good he will be. If Clingan can come back by the end of January and we stay healthy we are the best team in the country. Cam may not be an nba player but he is a better college basketball player than Hawk was. He does everything well except on ball defense but he steals the ball a lot so it kind of cancels out and makes him less of a defensive liability. He is a better passer than Hawk. SC will compare favorably with what AJ gave us. Certainly more offense. I am not saying SC and Cam are better than JH and AJ. I am saying they are comparable and in certain aspects better. SJ is an nba player if you question that you are wrong. Diarra can now shoot which makes him better than last year. AK is better than last year. JS got important minutes and I don’t know how Hurley keeps him off the court. TN is the same player go out looks like he had a bad game still scored 17. If you add it up we don’t have Sanogo and that is a difficult comparison. But if DC is healthy he and SJ compare favorably to AS and DC.

 

[tzznandrew]

Pointing out that "only" 10 first round picks from a draft only 6 years ago are gone from the League altogether is not the mic drop you think it is.

Number of First Round Draft Picks out of the League before Year 6:

1987: 7/23
1988: 5/25
1989: 10/27
1990: 9/27
1991: 9/27
1992: 5/27
1993: 8/27
1994: 9/27
1995: 8/29
1996: 7/29
1997: 8/28

Same as it ever was

(And, by your own logic, worse, since this is the time in which players regularly played 3-4 years. I intentionally stopped before HS players).

 

[gars44]

Can we just accept this guy (SC) has some skills that already make him nba ready. He is just scratching the surface of what he is going to by the end of this month. By the end of February who knows how good he will be. If Clingan can come back by the end of January and we stay healthy we are the best team in the country. Cam may not be an nba player but he is a better college basketball player than Hawk was. He does everything well except on ball defense but he steals the ball a lot so it kind of cancels out and makes him less of a defensive liability. He is a better passer than Hawk. SC will compare favorably with what AJ gave us. Certainly more offense. I am not saying SC and Cam are better than JH and AJ. I am saying they are comparable and in certain aspects better. SJ is an nba player if you question that you are wrong. Diarra can now shoot which makes him better than last year. AK is better than last year. JS got important minutes and I don’t know how Hurley keeps him off the court. TN is the same player go out looks like he had a bad game still scored 17. If you add it up we don’t have Sanogo and that is a difficult comparison. But if DC is healthy he and SJ compare favorably to AS and DC.

I’m going to say this is a great post but all the abbreviations make it hard to follow after a couple of drinks.

 

[gars44]

Number of First Round Draft Picks out of the League before Year 6:

1987: 7/23
1988: 5/25
1989: 10/27
1990: 9/27
1991: 9/27
1992: 5/27
1993: 8/27
1994: 9/27
1995: 8/29
1996: 7/29
1997: 8/28

Same as it ever was

(And, by your own logic, worse, since this is the time in which players regularly played 3-4 years. I intentionally stopped before HS players).

Man, you gotta be a research horse! Where do you get all this stuff?

 

[Hunt for 7]

I’m going to say this is a great post but all the abbreviations make it hard to follow after a couple of drinks.

Sorry about that I should use less and be more consistent. I agree but I am in the same situation as you.

 

[DogMania]

I'm not sure what I think about Castle. Granted, he's very good at taking his man off the dribble and already has an NBA ready body. He's an elite on the ball defender. But he isn't so automatic around the rim as I thought he'd be and our motion offense grinds to a halt when he's on the floor. There's not another player on the team who stands around without the ball or just pounds it out on the perimeter like Castle often does. There were times tonight you could tell his teammates knew he was not in the right spots on the floor. Granted, the lineups tonight at times were funky, where players might not have been used to playing where they are used to. Though within the motion offense he doesn't seem to make quick decisions, via the pass or drive to get an advantage. So far he's not shown any indication of being a 3 point threat.

With all that said, he seems to do things in the latter part of some games that helps the team win. He's dynamic in the open court. Very physical in the paint. He's our best iso player, especially in mismatch situations, though has struggled at times when teams collapse on him in the paint knowing his tendency to force his shot in traffic.

He reminds me so much of Marcus Smart. Now he's still very young and has missed a good chunk of games due to his injury. Still a lot of games to be played to improve. I'm not convinced he's still going to be a one-and-done lottery pick, but if he cleans up some of the perceived shortcomings, especially finishing at a better clip at rim in traffic and midrange, maybe some NBA teams will see him worthy of an early pick.

I just wish he'd play more instinctive and more quickly in our half court multi-screen motion offense. It's been a thing of beauty much of the season, something I just like watching compared to the stand around, two-man iso, where we take tough shots as the shot-clock runs down.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

He’s gone after this year. It’s a good thing.

 

[caw]

I'm not sure what I think about Castle. Granted, he's very good at taking his man off the dribble and already has an NBA ready body. He's an elite on the ball defender. But he isn't so automatic around the rim as I thought he'd be and our motion offense grinds to a halt when he's on the floor. There's not another player on the team who stands around without the ball or just pounds it out on the perimeter like Castle often does. There were times tonight you could tell his teammates knew he was not in the right spots on the floor. Granted, the lineups tonight at times were funky, where players might not have been used to playing where they are used to. Though within the motion offense he doesn't seem to make quick decisions, via the pass or drive to get an advantage. So far he's not shown any indication of being a 3 point threat.

With all that said, he seems to do things in the latter part of some games that helps the team win. He's dynamic in the open court. Very physical in the paint. He's our best iso player, especially in mismatch situations, though has struggled at times when teams collapse on him in the paint knowing his tendency to force his shot in traffic.

He reminds me so much of Marcus Smart. Now he's still very young and has missed a good chunk of games due to his injury. Still a lot of games to be played to improve. I'm not convinced he's still going to be a one-and-done lottery pick, but if he cleans up some of the perceived shortcomings, especially finishing at a better clip at rim in traffic and midrange, maybe some NBA teams will see him worthy of an early pick.

I just wish he'd play more instinctive and more quickly in our half court multi-screen motion offense. It's been a thing of beauty much of the season, something I just like watching compared to the stand around, two-man iso, where we take tough shots as the shot-clock runs down.

I agree for the most part, he still isn't fully adjusted to the motion offense. Those missed games hurt his growth to an extent.

Remember it's his 8th game and only his 5th game starting. You can see his growth with each game.

And he is still statistically really good when he starts. 13/4/6.6 on 62.5% from two, 79% from FT line and 2/6 from three. Only 2 TOs a game and 1.4 STs. I think he will adjust as the season goes on and get better.

 

[ToolzieFan]

But he isn't so automatic around the rim as I thought he'd be

He’s shooting 23-30 (76.7%) on close 2s, which is elite. That’s actually second among all high major freshmen with at least 20 close 2 attempts, and I think 39th in the entire country. He’s really, really good.

T-Rank Player Stats - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank

T-Rank College Basketball Ratings and Rankings. And fun.

barttorvik.com

 

[gars44]

I'm not sure what I think about Castle. Granted, he's very good at taking his man off the dribble and already has an NBA ready body. He's an elite on the ball defender. But he isn't so automatic around the rim as I thought he'd be and our motion offense grinds to a halt when he's on the floor. There's not another player on the team who stands around without the ball or just pounds it out on the perimeter like Castle often does. There were times tonight you could tell his teammates knew he was not in the right spots on the floor. Granted, the lineups tonight at times were funky, where players might not have been used to playing where they are used to. Though within the motion offense he doesn't seem to make quick decisions, via the pass or drive to get an advantage. So far he's not shown any indication of being a 3 point threat.

With all that said, he seems to do things in the latter part of some games that helps the team win. He's dynamic in the open court. Very physical in the paint. He's our best iso player, especially in mismatch situations, though has struggled at times when teams collapse on him in the paint knowing his tendency to force his shot in traffic.

He reminds me so much of Marcus Smart. Now he's still very young and has missed a good chunk of games due to his injury. Still a lot of games to be played to improve. I'm not convinced he's still going to be a one-and-done lottery pick, but if he cleans up some of the perceived shortcomings, especially finishing at a better clip at rim in traffic and midrange, maybe some NBA teams will see him worthy of an early pick.

I just wish he'd play more instinctive and more quickly in our half court multi-screen motion offense. It's been a thing of beauty much of the season, something I just like watching compared to the stand around, two-man iso, where we take tough shots as the shot-clock runs down.

broadcasters said 23 NBA scouts at game tonight. has to be some reason for that

 

[husky429]

Ehh even after tonight I have my concerns. He’s in his own head, a lot. You’ll see a player try to dap him up and he doesn’t even notice it. I’ve never seen him initiate a high five or give any real positive energy, not exactly Hassan out there. He has focus problems, the rest of the offense will be in a set he’ll be standing there then suddenly snap out of it and remember what he had to do and get to his spot. This offense requires a lot of quick thinking, if you don’t have the drive to learn it fast or a high volume of reps it can be overwhelming. He’s much better with the ball in his hands. Like I said tho, best traits of any guard we‘ve ever had, his iso man defense is incredible, teams need to confuse him with switches to get anything off on him.

I'm sure when you wrote this you thought you were being insightful.

 

[uconn_jack]

He can take anyone to the rim.

But he doesn't, that's the frustrating thing. He rarely takes a pass and immediately makes a move toward the basket, nor does he probe much when he's dribbling around the outside. He can, we've seen it, but he's just doesn't seem to have that confidence yet. I assume, or hope, that will change.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Others have mentioned it... Castle finishes like a boss.