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After winning a national title and being named Big East Freshman of the Year, Stephon Castle is leaving Connecticut for the NBA.
Castle told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday he has declared for the 2024 NBA draft.
B/R’s Jonathan Wasserman projected Castle to be the No. 5 pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in his most recent mock draft.
Castle was a 5-star prospect and No. 9 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports.
The 19-year-old appeared in 34 of UConn’s 40 games, including 30 starts. He averaged 11.1 points on 47.2 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Castle was terrific for the Huskies during their run through the NCAA tournament, particularly in the Final Four and national title game. He scored a combined 36 points on 13-of-26 shooting with 10 rebounds and five assists in wins over Alabama and Purdue.
Wasserman cited Castle’s “passing, defense, hustle and play-finishing” as the biggest strengths he showed throughout his freshman campaign.
If Castle can improve his shooting touch—he connected on just 26.7 percent of his three-point attempts—there’s tremendous upside for him in the NBA. He’s listed at 6’6″ and has long arms that allow him to be very disruptive as a defender.
Castle becomes the third different Huskies player who has declared for the draft, along with Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban. Clingan is also a projected lottery pick. Karaban was a late second-round pick to the Boston Celtics in Wasserman’s mock.
The NBA draft order will be set when the lottery takes place on May 12. The Detroit Pistons have the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Washington Wizards, Blazers, Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs to round out the top five.
