“ I know who you are bro » has fun Stephon Castle. On his phone screen, Victor Wembanyama seems to have difficulty containing his enthusiasm. The French interior wanted to welcome his new teammate in person, selected in 4th position by Spurs on Wednesday. “ I'm so, so happy with what we did “Wemby continues.” I don't know how you feel, but I'm really looking forward to working with you. » Because in San Antonio, the Connecticut player was the absolute priority, already envisaged for a long time.
As Texas GM Brian Wright explained, the Spurs have had their eye on Stephon Castle since high school. “ San Antonio is one of the only franchises that has come to training several times, with managers present several days, also coming to games » said the now ex-coach of Stephon Castle in Connecticut, Dan Hurley at the San Antonio Express News. “ They were very, very interested in Steph. »
We're ready for you, @StephonCastle pic.twitter.com/F4OsHzl4fu
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) June 27, 2024
The meaning of sacrifice
Dan Hurley is convinced, the marriage of his former partner and his new team is ideal. “ He will be humble in the locker room. He will be a great rookie because he will enjoy being coached and managed by other players. He's a Spur. A perfect Spur. It's amazing. There were some games where we needed him to be our main scorer. And there were others where we needed him to be a connector, to defend, to facilitate the game, to be present on the rebound. He did it with great humility, because it was the victory that counted. To me, that's what a Spur is. »
“ He's very versatile, he plays hard, he's smart ” sums up Brian Wright. ” You know, most of the time you don't see highly anticipated players joining a school and being ready to play a role. He played with the ball and without the ball in high school and, you know, he did things that he just wasn't able to show sometimes at UConn because they were so good, with such a talent pool and experience. And so this ability to sacrifice for the betterment of the team is something that also stood out to us. Because it's something you're going to have to do over the course of your career. He's a team-oriented guy, he's a hard worker and he comes from a program where you know they're trained hard every day. It meant a lot to us. »
The Spurs needed some creativity and defense
From Dan Hurley to Gregg Popovich, Stephon Castle will in any case not be disoriented in terms of the expected demands.
“I was able to see during the process before the Draft that the Spurs valued work, that they were uncompromising on it »reacted the former Huskies player. “ I played with the best coach in the NCAA. So to play now for a legendary coach like Coach Pop is an honor. » Stephon Castle made it clear that he was not going to drag out the celebrations and will be in San Antonio this weekend.
At the Spurs, he will be expected as the new initiator on the back lines, while the Spurs experimented in this register last year with Jeremy Sochan, then Tre Jones in a leadership role.
“ I will bring my quality of pass » promised Stephon Castle on NBA TV. “ I didn't get to show it as much as I would have liked at UConn. I'm ready to bring it to San Antonio with and without the ball, especially with 'Wemby,' because he'll have the ball. I want to be able to set screens for him, cut to the rim and do all the little things I learned without the ball at Connecticut. »
To complete this seemingly idyllic picture, Stephon Castle will bring more impact in defense to the back lines, and thus relieve a little the lightning rod Victor Wembanyama.
“ Defense is a matter of pride for me » explained the future Texan number 5, specifying that he was looking forward to taking care of players like Luka Doncic. “ It's 70% effort, 30% talent, but above all it's the pride I have in defending and showing this part of my game. I wouldn't be the player I am without that.“
