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Just want to say everyone loved Sochan his first year. Then he was forced to play PG and now everyone hates him.
Let's come to the middle a little, yeah? Swaying with the masses ain't a place to be.
LOL that 2/13 first game and everyone on the youtube highlights saying Spurs should have taken Scoot
Though Tony Parker's summer league was pretty impressive and all of a sudden realizing the Spurs might have gotten a 19 year-old allstar. Even my Laker fan friends were saying that dude's gonna be an allstar after that summer league. Seattle offering Payton for TP after like two summer league games was funny.
Just want to say everyone loved Sochan his first year. Then he was forced to play PG and now everyone hates him.
Let's come to the middle a little, yeah? Swaying with the masses ain't a place to be.
If they see him as a lead initiator (staying away from "PG" le), then I suspect he gets the Tony Parker treatment. TP averaged 30 mpg and started 72 of his 77 games played.
Right, we should probably think of him as Ron Harper on the 90's Bulls.
Not really a PG, but another guard/wing that can defend and exploit mismatches with his size. And he shares offensive initiating/playmaking with Vassell (who did make good strides in that area, IMO).
After starting, what, three guys who never played the point because they were tall the Spurs aren't going to try the tall guy who has played the point and said he wants to play the point?
Seems unlikely. Sticking him at the 3 has to be a pretty disappointing plan B.
If Castle can get his 3pt shooting to around even post-AS Tre Jones levels (~40% on 3 attempts/game), he'll be a pretty impressive multiposition player.
This is also different than the Sochan "experiment" because it was never his role at any level. He showed good feel for the game, but it was always going to be a stretch for him to take the role full time. I assume it won't be an "experiment" with Castle and he'll be given a long leash to work through the growing pains.
Castle
Vassell
Paul George
Sochan
Wemby
Is going to be a tough defensive lineup to beat.
I recommend everyone watch this who hasn't. It's high level, especially for a YT vid, but gets into the basic framework of UConn's sets. Says they have three basic movements - stagger screens, zoom action, pindowns. I wish I understood things at this level.
These actions set everything in motion. At that point, because Hurley has recruited guys with high level processing and has coached them very well, the players are allowed to improvise. See a defender turn his head? Cut. A defender hedges for the shot? Slip the screen.
It's relentlessly forcing defenses to make split second decisions over and over. Poor Stetson, those guys were helpless, but even the top teams like Alabama and Purdue start getting crushed because of the designs. They create feints, decoys, hide what they're doing, but it's also those variations where players are trusted to essentially call audibles.
This is why deciding whether Castle is a PG or not is beside the point. He is... and doesn't have to be. Put him everywhere on the court and he's making plays, because he understands these actions, where to make passes, where the defense is looking for one thing and doesn't expect the other. He's a strong passer, a good ballhandler, strong, a good cutter. Mostly, he gets this stuff at a very high level for a freshman. Very high.
And it's why he didn't want to go to a Charlotte, where he's going to be stuck in the corner watching happen. He wants to make these instant decisions. And it's not necessary to have the ball in his hands. At UConn he was deadly off-ball, as everyone was. It's designed for the off-ball players to be deadly. It's designed for one action to pull attention yet the real thing is happening somewhere else.
It's Spurs stuff. It's a perfect fit for him.
It's basically the opposite of Harden pound-the-ball offense, or what Trae does.
And why they might take a player like Ingram, who can handle these reads.
Granted, Castle is only the 6th Top 10 pick in Spurs history, but no Spurs top-10 pick has ever NOT been an opening day starter (Robinson, Elliott, Duncan, Sochan, Wembanyama).
After trying to make non-PGs play PG, Pop has the opportunity to do the funniest thing and make the PG play SF.
If you have PG13 in our lineup then I'm ok with castles growing pains what I can't watch is another team with the inability to make shots. If it's only vassell and Wemby they are as good as dead even with some improvement by sochan we'd be lucky to score 70 PTS lol. I love castle and all his intangibles but hopefully he works so hard and shocks everyone with at least an average jumper. Call chip enguland (spelling)
Our PG can’t shoot. Our SF can’t shoot. Out PF can’t shoot. And our Center will be our second be at shooter on the starting line up.
PATFO ruined this team. Better get Klay immediately. Move him to SF and then it will be a salvageable season. We will still suck but it will alleast be watchable.
I think sucking isn't a thing they necessarily want to avoid next season.
The idea of Champagnie starting next season is very bleak stuff. It’s very likely this organization has no clue what it’s doing. We better see some trades this offseason with real players coming in
Enjoyed this video. Reminded me of an interview this year with Sean. He had asked Pop why they quit running certain plays that were gospel during the Timmy years. Pop said his current squad just couldn't grasp the concepts. Kind of depressing. Hoping Castle's BBIQ is as high as advertised and we can continue to surround him and Wemby with guys who can run these advanced sets.
I would start Castle at PG day one and see how it goes. Keep Champ in the lineup or start Keldon instead. After 30 games we should know whether he has PG chops or not
The ability to process the court and systems might have played into the draft choices. I'm not sure Dillingham is more than an instinctive player and Furphy wasn't a great creator or passer, for example.
It'll all depend on how secure he is with the ball more than his offensive production.
I can also see PATFO starting him straight away, especially if Tre is the only other option on the roster.
I just don't want to see another season with Tre starting, he has zero connexion with Victor
I like Tre, who will be a great backup, but Castle will provide everything he does plus. And one of those plusses is getting the big man the ball.
We are gonna suck either way. I just want the season to be watchable during the 24 non-Wemby minutes. Imagine. Castle kicks out to Champ who is wide open and clanks. Kick out to Sochan who clanks. Beautiful ball movement who hits a wide open castle who clanks the open 3. Collins with clanking wide open 3s. The Spurs might have the worst shooting team of the last decade. Great job PATFO
No question, no matter how well sochan plays D, I think spurs start to test the waters if his 3 pt shot doesn't miraculously improve.
He'll definitely start tbh. Should start him at the Point for a while and see what we have there and if he's capable, and I think that's what Pop will do.
Spurs should offer the bag to Hurley once Pop hangs 'em up tbh. The opportunity to coach Wemby + Castle + whoever else we have in a couple years when we (hopefully) are starting to piece things together might be enticing enough to pry him away from UCONN. That'd be a home run hire. Would prefer that over Kerr or any of the other old heads we'd likely consider tbh.
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