STORRS -– Tristen Newton’s decision to return to UConn, after attending the G League Elite Camp and testing the professional waters, ensured the Huskies would have a solid backcourt this year with prized recruit Stephon Castle coming in.
About a week later, coach Dan Hurley and staff locked in a commitment from Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer to fill out a roster with Final Four potential.
Castle, a 6-foot-6 point guard, is expected to maximize his strengths as a facilitator – a key attribute that made him a consensus top-15 recruit in his class – with Newton and Spencer serving in their natural roles as scorers for the 2023-24 Huskies.
“I think the vision is, for Steph to do for us in terms of creating offense and facilitating in transition with the shooters and the finishers at center,” Hurley said Friday, prior to the First Night festivities. “But I think he’ll take even more pressure off Tristen in terms of his ball-handling responsibilities and I could just put Tristen in positions to be a little bit more like the guy at East Carolina for us.”
Newton, a 6-5 point guard, was the leading scorer (17.7 points per game) in his junior year at East Carolina before joining the Huskies and sacrificing some of that ball dominance last year as he averaged 10.1 points per game. He had big games, two triple-doubles and a 19-point, 10-rebound performance in the national championship, among others, but the role was somewhat different for him and it took time for his confidence to build. Still, he was the Huskies’ fourth-best 3-point shooter (36.6%) and had range that extended the floor.
Spencer averaged more than two made 3-pointers per game last year at Rutgers, converting 43.4% of his shots from deep.
“Having two guys playing next to Steph that can shoot, score, are veterans – Cam and Tristen – it’s a great setup for them and it’s great for Steph. Obviously add Alex (Karaban) to that mix, scoring, shooting and finishers around a 6-6 guard that can really create, it can be great,” Hurley said.
Castle can score too, primarily at the rim with his strength and athleticism, as his shot continues to improve.
“I think the vision is to use him in a lot of ways just like we did with Andre (Jackson) in terms of getting on the defensive glass, pushing the ball, starting our transition and when he has opportunities with the ball,” Hurley said, “there’s gonna be great driving lanes for him, or opportunities for him to spray the ball to shooters and finishers.”
2024 5
Patrick Ngongba (@NgongbaPatrick) and 2024 4
— HS Top Recruits (@HSTopRecruiting) October 14, 2023
First Night special guests
The Huskies hosted two recruits in the 2024 Class for Friday evening’s festivities.
Isaiah Abraham, a 6-7 combo guard ranked 72nd in the class by 247Sports and 81st by ESPN, already announced his commitment on July 14. He was joined by his cousin, Patrick Ngongba, a five-star center, as he made his official visit over the weekend. Ngongba, 6-11, is ranked 20th in the class by 247Sports and No. 19 by ESPN.
Also in attendance was 6-5 forward Jacob Ross, a Class of 2025 target and the brother of freshman Jayden Ross.
Former Husky Richie Springs, who transferred to Quinnipiac in the spring, also enjoyed the event after receiving his national championship ring.
Clingan recovery on track
UConn center Donovan Clingan, who suffered a foot strain in practice during the last week of September, was not wearing his boot during his First Night introduction and appeared to be walking better.
“Donovan looks good, he’s right where we hoped he’d be. It’s a long season, we’ll take our time with him,” Hurley said. “My only fear would be he’s getting itchy to do the next thing and he desperately wants to get out there so we’ve got to try to kind of protect him from himself.”
The hope is to have Clingan fully healthy before the season begins with Northern Arizona Nov. 6.
“I don’t think anything is written in stone, it’s just the symptoms, it’s all about the symptoms and then progressing him back Obviously the way we practice is unique, the pace, the tempo, the energy in it. So we’re gonna have to ease him back a little bit,” Hurley said.
Andre Jackson Jr. with AUTHORITY
Throwing it DOWN on the break.#NBAPreseason | Live on the NBA App
: https://t.co/WfH3FJ6tZs pic.twitter.com/gTDFp0vPUz
— NBA (@NBA) October 8, 2023
Former Huskies adjusting to NBA
The NBA preseason has gotten underway for rookies Jordan Hawkins (New Orleans Pelicans), Jackson (Milwaukee Bucks) and Adama Sanogo (Chicago Bulls).
“The boys are all doing great,” Hurley said. “Their coaches love them. I think all three of them are obviously a coach’s dream to work with and it’s cool to hear their NBA coaches talking about them in such a positive light. The guys are going through it, it’s like the adjustment from high school to UConn, now there’s an adjustment from UConn to the NBA. But they’re all gonna have great careers.”
Among his many highlights already, Jackson had a dunk in the Bucks’ preseason opener that brought superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard to their feet.
“Andre is between (Lillard) and the Greek Freak, so I mean like, how awesome is that? And I know they all love him there because he’s like the greatest guy you’ll ever coach and their whole organization already knows it,” Hurley said.
Joey Calcaterra, who went undrafted, also signed a G League contract with the South Bay Lakers Friday night.
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