Castle guards against elite
UConn freshman’s next challenge will be to contain Illinois star Shannon
Stephon Castle is the only freshman in the starting five for the UConn men’s basketball team and has already built a reputation as a lockdown defender.
“He’s a good kid and he’s the best defender that you see,” Huskies center Donovan Clingan said Friday. “We put him on the best players every game. He’s a special player, special kid.”
Castle drew the assignment of guarding Northwestern’s Boo Buie, who is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, in a secondround NCAA Tournament win. Buie shot 2 for 15 from the field, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range, for 9 points and had as many turnovers (two) as made field goals.
On Saturday night at TD Garden, when UConn takes on Illinois in the Elite Eight, Castle will have another opportunity to showcase his skills against a Big Ten foe.
“He’s making a big impact. He’s an elite defender,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Elite. He competes really hard. It’s very hard to find freshmen that play that hard, that know how to play that hard. Usually, they’ve been coddled and told how great they are for the first six years of their being in basketball, so they think they’re great and arrived.
“[Castle] knows how to play really, really hard. He’s a great slasher. His offensive game is developing, but he’s impactful. The job he did on Boo Buie from our league in the NCAA Tournament game was very impressive.”
Castle, a 2023 McDonald’s All-American who is averaging 12.3 points on 56 percent shooting during the tournament, said big games like these were part of coach Dan Hurley’s recruiting pitch that drew him to the Huskies.
“Coming here, this is one of the things that [Hurley] talked about,” Castle said. “Trying to get from Brooklyn to Boston to Phoenix [for the championship game]. I remember him saying that when I got recruited here. We’re finally living in it now. Everything that we talked about is coming into reality.”
The Elite Eight matchup features the Huskies’ top-10 defense against the Illini’s top-10 offense. UConn is holding opponents to 63.6 points per game, which is 10th in the country. Illinois is scoring 84.2 points per game, which is ninth in the nation.
Illinois is led by 6-foot-6-inch, 225pound guard Terrence Shannon Jr., who is averaging 28.3 points on 59.2 percent shooting over three tournament games.
“He’s doing it, and we don’t run much to him,” Underwood said. “We’re not running a lot of action to him. Marcus [Domask] gets a ton of the attention. Coleman [Hawkins] gets a ton of the attention in terms of offensive stuff. I’ve used the term ‘organic.’ It kind of happens. [Shannon] finds it.”
Illinois suspended Shannon indefinitely after he was charged with rape in December. He was reinstated after his attorneys filed a lawsuit against the school. A judge granted a temporary restraining order that allowed Shannon to return to the team.
Underwood said the situation has made the season a “roller coaster” for Illinois, which is in its first Elite Eight since 2005. Shannon’s overall scoring average of 23.5 points is third in the country, trailing only Purdue’s Zach Edey (24.5) and Denver’s Tommy Brunner (24.0).
“He was great early and . . . he had a few struggles on his return,” Underwood said. “That was just him not wanting to mess things up. But, yeah, he had 29 [in Thursday night’s win over Iowa State]. I didn’t know it. He played 29 minutes and missed five free throws and some wide-open threes. Otherwise, he could have had a 40point night.”
Hurley mentioned a pair of Big East opponents whom he felt Illinois had some similarities to. The Illini have three starters — Shannon, Hawkins, and Quincy Guerrier — who are shooting 36 percent or better from 3-point range. Domask is averaging 15.8 rebounds, 5.1 rebounds, and 4 assists.
“I think there’s different elements with the way that they space the court,” Hurley said. “With Marquette in terms of the offensive end, although Marquette is unique. Some defensive principles maybe from Cre’ighton. Yeah, different elements.
“Obviously, we watched their game versus Marquette in the nonconference, the one they played at Illinois. So there was some familiarity coming in.”