A former UConn Huskies star is impressing his new head coach in the NBA.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle is just months away from winning a national title under Dan Hurley. Now Castle plays for arguably the greatest NBA coach of all time, Gregg Popovich.

Popovich is happy with what he’s seeing from Castle so far, supporting the theory that Castle could start for the Spurs this season. According to FanSided’s Josh Paredes, legendary Coach Pop had some nice things to say about Castle in a recent interview.

“I’m very impressed,” Popovich said, according to Paredes. “Really mature young man. Has great behavior. Good basketball IQ. He is strong. He learns quickly. He’s a good guy. He can play 1, 2 or 3 right now.”

Castle was selected No. 4 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, becoming only the second clear-cut lottery selection in the history of the Huskies program. Andre Drummond was the first draft selected by the Detroit Pistons at No. 9 overall in 2012.

Castle was a key catalyst in UConn’s recent national championship, scoring 21 points in the Huskies’ national semifinal win over Alabama and 15 points in the national championship win over Purdue.

Castle averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the Huskies during the 2023-24 season and was Hurley’s top perimeter defender throughout the season.

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