Stephon Castle welcomed to ‘perfect situation’ in San Antonio as UConn draftees introduced to NBA

While he was rising through high school and tabbed as a potential NBA prospect from a young age, Stephon Castle wasn’t worried about his end game.He learned this week, after the San Antonio Spurs chose him with the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday, that they’d been watching the whole time.“Looking back on that time, I wouldn’t expect to be in the position that I’m in now,” he said Saturday as he was welcomed to the Spurs and handed his new No. 5 jersey in San Antonio. “With all of the hard work that I’ve put in, I feel like it’s all paid off.”The 19-year-old, UConn’s second one-and-done, will go from tossing alley-oop passes to Donovan Clingan to now searching out 7-foot-4 phenom Victor Wembanyama, the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year. Wembanyama called Castle on a FaceTime shortly after he was selected and created a moment when he introduced himself – “I know who you are, bro,” Castle responded, laughing.That new duo – and the youngest team in the league – will be under the direction of one of the NBA’s all-time greatest coaches in Gregg Popovich, whose call to Castle on draft night brought out another smile.“Just the thought of playing for Coach Pop, it really doesn’t feel real. Coming from probably the best college basketball coach (Dan Hurley) to now going to a coach like Coach Pop, a legendary coach like that, I feel like it’s the perfect situation,” Castle said. “I feel like this is a position that any basketball player would want to be in, to play for two high-level coaches like that. I’m excited just to be able to play for him and how much I’ll grow.”They key for Castle, whose strengths were most seen on the defensive side of the ball, guarding every opponent’s best player in college, will be his versatility. UConn didn’t ask him to shoot much, which fueled some questions during the draft process, but he was utilized in a number of different ways that were impactful in preparing him for the next level.“I feel like I’m a perfect fit here,” he said, echoing Hurley’s thoughts on draft night. “With the fitting in part with the roster, I would just say with my versatility. We’re the youngest team in the league so we’ll have a lot of young players in the rotation but I feel like I’ll be able to play with any other four (players) on the court just with my on-ball and off-ball ability.“What I would say excites me the most is with our defense, me being able to be the point-of-attack defender and having a great shot-blocker like Wemby behind me to change shots, impact shots. I think it’ll impact the league very quickly and at a high rate.”The Spurs had Castle change into full uniform and put up a few shots for pictures following the press conference, and he made a string of 3-pointers in a row. Castle may be a part of the Spurs roster for their Sacramento California Classic games next week, but most fans will be looking forward to the July 13 summer league opener against Clingan and the Trail Blazers.UConn guard Cam Spencer (12) celebrates during the second half of the Elite 8 college basketball game against Illinois in the men’s NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Cam Spencer introduced to Memphis next to Zach EdeyOf course, the main focus of the Memphis Grizzlies’ introductory press conference was ninth overall pick and two-time college player of the year at Purdue, Zach Edey. But UConn’s Cam Spencer, the 53rd pick, had the last laugh.The two have a history that dates back to Spencer’s days in the Big Ten, which included a game-winner he hit for Rutgers and culminated in the 2024 national championship game, when Spencer scored 11 points with eight rebounds to help UConn past Purdue.“Zach and I are actually with the same agency so we were out training in Chicago together and there was a little trash talk there for sure,” he said, as anyone who’s been following along would expect. “But we’re two competitive guys and I have a ton of respect for him.”The Grizzlies also added Washington State’s Jaylen Wells, who will be one of the players Spencer competes with for a main roster spot.“To be able to have these three guys join our group is so exciting,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “They’re all gonna be able to bring so many different things to what we need to our team – versatility, toughness, physicality, shooting, but winners at heart. Willing to do anything possible to go out there and lay it on the line to make a winning play, not just for themselves but for their teammates.”UConn’s Tristen Newton drives to the basket against Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli during the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Barclays Center on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Newton joins Pacers as ‘older, but very accomplished’Tristen Newton stayed in El Paso, Texas, to hear his name called late in the second round, No. 49 overall, and then went to play in a softball game, where he wore an Indiana Pacers hat. He hasn’t had his introductory press conference yet, though Pacers General Manager Chad Buchanan spoke about the decision to draft him on Thursday.“Obviously he’s a national champion, two-time national champion, he’s done a lot of winning in a great program. I think that team last year at UConn might’ve been the best college basketball team I’ve seen in quite some time from top to bottom and he was a big, big part of it as the leader at the point guard position,” Buchanan said.“We wanted to get another lead guard to continue to groom and develop, I don’t think you can ever have enough point guards that can make plays with the ball. We liked his size, we liked his pedigree, we liked his toughness, he’s very calm. He’s a gamer. He’s one of those guys who made big plays when UConn really needed – Final Four, wherever it might be, we just saw him make big plays after big plays in big moments and we really liked that about him.”

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