Castle sets Big East mark with weekly award
Move over, Melo.
Uconn’s Stephon Castle is the new Big East all-time leader in Freshman of the Week honors after earning the nod for the 11th time this season, and the 10th time in the last 11 weeks, the league announced Sunday. This week’s recognition helps Castle pass Carmelo Anthony, who earned the honor 10 times during his freshman season at Syracuse in 200203, for the most in Big East history.
“That’s pretty cool,” Castle said Saturday night, thinking of the names he passed which includes nine-time honoree Allen Iverson. “It’s a cool stat to think about, but at the end of the day, I think if we don’t win the Big East (Tournament) or we don’t complete what our team goals are, I don’t think none of that really matters.”
Castle earned the latest recognition after averaging 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists over road wins at Marquette and Providence. He had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and a career-best four steals without committing a turnover against the
Friars Saturday night.
“I think that’s just credit to all of my coaches and my teammates, they’ve helped me so much throughout this year,” Castle said. “I feel like being able to play my game with the kind of strategies that they have and the kind of
scout that they have. The blueprint I think has helped me and that’s the reason I’ve been getting the awards.”
Castle, 6-foot-6, leads all Big East freshmen in points (11.2), rebounds (4.3) and assists (3.0) per game and has emerged as one of Uconn’s best defenders. The Huskies are 20-1 with him in the starting lineup.
“He guards (the other team’s) best player every night, he’s our best perimeter defender,” said graduate point guard Tristen Newton, who was named to the Wooden Award national ballot on Saturday. “He’s strong, he’s tall and he’s very athletic, so we play him on their best player and expect him to get stops. He’s been amazing and we need him to continue that.”
Alex Karaban, Uconn’s previous record-holder for Big East Freshman of the Week nods with six last season, was also recognized by the league on Sunday, earning a spot on the weekly honor roll for the fifth time this year.
Karaban averaged 19.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in a 2-0 week, leading the team in scoring in both games. He broke out of a four-game shooting slump with 23 points at Marquette on 8 of 13 shooting, 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. The redshirt sophomore followed that performance with 16 points against Providence, where he shot 4-for-6 from deep.