GLENDALE, Ariz. — As UConn guard Stephon Castle and his teammates stepped down from the podium where the team was presented its national championship trophy, they stepped through a passageway of players representing the school’s glorious past. As Castle neared the end of that group of assembled players — including Rudy Gay, Emeka Okafor and Ray Allen — he was embraced by Richard Hamilton, who was a member of the 1999 team that won the national title.
“Just to know that we went out there and upheld the standard, and that they were there every step of the way,” Castle said in the UConn locker room after the game, wearing a championship towel and title hat on his head, “it really means everything to us.”
As UConn won its sixth NCAA championship in Monday’s relatively easy 75-60 win over Purdue, Castle had 15 points and five rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament team to cap a brilliant Final Four weekend where he averaged 18 points (on 50% shooting) and five rebounds in two games.
But Castle’s biggest contribution over the weekend was his defense, which was key in smothering the Purdue guards and holding the Boilermakers to only one 3-pointer made in Monday’s championship. Castle, for most of his 33 minutes on the floor, picked up Purdue guard Braden Smith in the backcourt and hounded him into a 4-of-12 shooting game.
“Our game plan was to wear their guards down and keep them off the 3-point line,” Castle said. “We knew they couldn’t beat us by making just 2s, so the plan was to limit them from taking 3s.”
Castle was right. Center Zach Edey, college basketball player of the year, scored a game-high 37 points. Those were the conceded 2s. But tightening up on the perimeter allowed UConn to hold the Boilermakers to their season low on 3-point makes (one).
“We didn’t care if Zach took [25 shots] to get 30, 35 points,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “This whole game plan was no [Braden] Smith, no [Fletcher] Loyer, no [Mason] Gillis, no [Lance] Jones. Keep that collective group under 18, 20 points as a group, they had no chance to win, no matter how well Zach played.”
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On a team that dominated opponents this season in becoming the eighth team to win back-to-back titles (Florida was the last to win consecutive championships in 2006 and 2007), Castle was the only five-star recruit on UConn’s roster.
What made Castle so good as a freshman? He came in with complete respect for UConn and its accomplishment in winning last year’s title, and never demonstrated that he had the divalike baggage that some highly acclaimed athletes often bring with them.
“[His parents] kept him humble all the way through in a sport where we put these kids on a pedestal way before they should be,” Hurley said. “The way he handled the recruiting process, it didn’t turn into a fiasco.
“He saw our culture, he wanted to be coached hard. It’s just been the perfect situation for him ’cause his draft stock is right where they want it to be right now, and he’s won big. You can still do both, and everyone can win.”
While Castle said after the game that it’s too soon to decide his future and the possibility of being one-and-done, that draft stock Hurley spoke about is sky-high with expectations that he would be a lottery pick if he decided to enter this year’s NBA draft. Castle is ranked 14th in ESPN’s latest 2024 NBA draft rankings.
“A lot of NBA teams come through and watch us practice where he has the ball in his hands even more, where he gets to show all the things he can do that you don’t always see on game night,” Hurley said.
Castle is likely to show those skills on the NBA level next season. For now, on Monday night, he was simply a freshman in awe of having his first college basketball season capped by a national championship.
“In high school I never got a chance to win a state championship or any big championship,” Castle said. “To win it all, it’s such a crazy feeling. I’m just trying to let it all soak in.”
