Stephon Castle

The first question in the Castle evaluation is whether he is a true point guard at the next level. He plays with the ball in his hands now and has shown a passing acumen, but seemed more natural as the athletic secondary playmaker with size during his stint with USA Basketball. He makes high-level plays with the ball in the open floor, gets downhill in transition as well as coming off ball-screens, and knows how to change his pace in the pick-and-roll. He is exceptionally imposing with the ball because of his positional size, strength, body control and balance holding off contact and maintaining his line, even when going through the lane with euros. While he rarely gets sped up as a handler, he does not have as much shake or even change-of-direction as a typical point guard. He can see and pass over top of smaller guards and similarly has an effective short pull-up game that may become a bigger part of his arsenal at the next level. His inconsistencies as a shooter are the most glaring swing skill. He shoots a harder ball and can lose confidence, even at the free-throw line. Defensively, he has extreme potential versatility that may eventually be his calling card, even if it is not yet the emphasis of his game. Castle is not especially vocal, but commands his teammates’ respect when he does talk. Similarly, with his natural tools, he is capable of imposing his will on the game, on both ends of the floor, probably more so than he does now. Overall, Castle projects as an extremely versatile defender and downhill playmaker, especially in the half-court. His ceiling would come from proving he is a true big point guard, developing his jumper and a true killer instinct to maximize his unique tools.

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