Likes

• He might be the best point of attack defender in the draft. He has great footwork and does a really good job at pressuring the ball handler and forcing them into tough positions. He also has good screen navigation. There are a couple of things he could clean up, but I would be genuinely shocked if he isn’t a positive defender on day one.

• HUSTLE is the kids middle name. Well, it isn’t. It should be though, because this kid knows how to HUSTLE. The effort he puts in on a nightly basis is astounding for a freshman. He is always looking at getting into lanes, making aggressive dives for loose balls, constantly trying to poke the ball away from the ball handler, and even crashing the glass. If there was an award to give out to the college players who out in the most effort/hustle, Stephon Castle would be a finalist.

• He is really good at creating advantages as a ball handler. He had a tight handle that he controls well and a shiftiness that is really difficult to guard. He routinely finds ways to weave through the defense with his slick ball handling and elite body control. This kid generates a large amount of rim touches because of this.

• He’s become good at finishing through contact at the rim. This may be partially due to his strength. He doesn’t get knocked off balance easily, and he still manages to finish shots around the rim even when he does lose balance.

• I think he is a solid passer. He makes some difficult reads and didn’t turn the ball over a lot during his freshman year. I expect this to continue improving.

Dislikes

• He is a complete zero as a shooter right now. He was very inefficient for most of the season, to the point where it was actually an improvement for him to get his percentages up to just below 30%. There is some hope for improvement, but not much.

• His lack of shooting hurts his ability to play off the ball. He is good as a cutter, but your value off the ball diminishes if you can’t make threes.

Future outlook

• I like Stephon Castle quite a lot. If you haven’t been able to tell yet, I like players who know how to hustle and have an impact in the little areas. There is always a place for players like that in the NBA, and I’m confident that Castle will have a long career because of that. I’m also confident that he has star potential. Guys who are able to generate as many rim touches as Castle often find ways to be high value scorers in the NBA. The shot obviously needs a lot of work, but I wouldn’t bet against Castle being a longterm starter in the NBA due to these factors I’ve mentioned.