By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-07-12 13:28:29
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
拉斯维加斯——两周前，当NBA公布夏季联赛赛程时，马刺新秀控球后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)立即掏出了手机。
卡斯尔手指在键盘上飞舞，给波特兰开拓者队新秀中锋多诺万·克林甘(Donovan Clingan)发了几条垃圾话。
“我肯定让他听到了一些东西，”卡斯尔说。
毫无疑问：20岁的克林甘收到的来自19岁卡斯尔的短信纯粹是出于友谊。上赛季，他们是康涅狄格大学连续第二次夺得全国冠军的重要成员，彼此之间建立了紧密的联系。
这也为马刺和开拓者在周六晚上8点于托马斯&麦克中心进行的比赛增添了一些趣味。这场比赛将在ESPN2频道播出。
“能和多诺万再次同场竞技，尤其是在这样的环境下，感觉会很酷，”卡斯尔说。“这就是我们为之努力的目标。”
身高6英尺6英寸的卡斯尔以其顽强、令人窒息的防守、组织能力和极高的篮球智商给马刺留下了深刻印象，他们在卡斯尔完成大学一年级后，以第四顺位选中了这位来自佐治亚州的球员。在接下来的一个赛季里，他将从新签下的未来名人堂成员克里斯·保罗身上学习经验，预计他将在未来几年成为球队的场上指挥官。
同样，身高7英尺2英寸、体重280磅的克林甘在为哈士奇队效力了两个冠军赛季后，在第七顺位被开拓者选中，也被视为开拓者未来的中坚力量。对于这样一个体型庞大的球员来说，他拥有极佳的移动能力、速度和协调性，这让他有望成为波特兰令人印象深刻的防守支柱。
综上所述，两队的拉斯维加斯首秀对马刺和开拓者的球迷来说都是不容错过的比赛，他们渴望看到自己球队的未来之星同场竞技。这场比赛在康涅狄格州也应该会吸引大量的观众，克林甘在与康涅狄格大学签约之前，曾是布里斯托尔中心高中的明星球员。
“这将是一场有趣且充满竞争的比赛，”卡斯尔说。
在这场对决前后，这对前哈士奇队友肯定会分享一些欢乐时光。
“他是一个非常脚踏实地、很酷的人，”卡斯尔谈到克林甘时说。“我甚至在他承诺加入康涅狄格大学之前就认识他了，他对我已经非常友好了。你能感觉到他是一个非常真诚的人。”
上个月，克林甘和卡斯尔一起接受了Slamonline.com的采访，克林甘在采访中调侃了卡斯尔的睡眠习惯，从中可以明显看出他对卡斯尔的喜爱。
“我记得当我们（在2023年8月随哈士奇队）从欧洲回来的路上，在我们离开巴塞罗那之前——我想，可能飞机上都还没有坐满人——他已经睡着了，直到我们在波士顿降落时灯光亮起，他才醒来，”克林甘说。“那可是八个小时的飞行，他一次都没有醒来。甚至没有去上厕所。什么都没有。我当时就想，这就是斯蒂芬！就像，他睡觉的时候，就真的在睡觉。但当他醒着的时候，他就在打篮球。”
“但他就是喜欢打盹。我每次见到他，他都在打盹。在巴士上，在飞机上——他都在打盹。”
上赛季，没有人敢小觑哈士奇队。卡斯尔场均贡献11.1分、4.7个篮板和2.9次助攻，成为康涅狄格大学的外线防守尖兵；克林甘场均贡献13分、7.4个篮板和2.5次盖帽，统治着内线。
“最让我印象深刻的可能是他在防守端的威慑力，他如何改变投篮和干扰投篮，以及盖帽，”卡斯尔谈到克林甘时说。
马刺新秀后卫哈里森·英格拉姆(Harrison Ingram)清楚地记得上赛季哈士奇队有多么难对付。在12月于麦迪逊广场花园举行的吉米·瓦尔瓦诺经典赛上，英格拉姆为北卡罗来纳大学砍下20分，但哈士奇队最终以87-76获胜。
“内线那个大个子，很难对付，”英格拉姆谈到克林甘时说。“每次你进入内线，你都会想到他。”
从大学联赛过渡到对抗更激烈、强度更高、要求更高的NBA，卡斯尔和克林甘都全身心地投入到各自球队的战术学习中。
“这完全不同，”克林甘在波特兰告诉记者。“这是一种不同类型的篮球。很明显，这不再是大学联赛了。你真的只是在努力了解你所有队友的打法。他们是如何取得成功的。我怎样才能更好地设置掩护。我怎样才能更好地传球。真的，就是试着去了解不同的球员，以及他们需要我怎样打球才能让他们非常成功。”
卡斯尔相信，克林甘会在NBA证明自己也能成为进攻端的一股力量。
“他的进攻技术一直在进步，”卡斯尔说。“我知道他会投三分。上赛季在康涅狄格大学，他没有必要投三分，但来到这个联盟，我知道他会扩展自己的比赛。他几乎拥有全面的技术。他能组织，能做所有这些小事。”
卡斯尔在进攻端也有需要证明的地方，他在哈士奇队时，三分球命中率只有26.7%，场均出手2.2次。
“从大学篮球最好的项目来到NBA，展示你工具箱里的一切，绝对是一种幸运，”卡斯尔说。“这是我们为之努力的目标，所以我很高兴我们俩都有机会在这里展示自己。”
前康涅狄格大学球星多诺万·克林甘（左）和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔将于周六在拉斯维加斯举行的NBA夏季联赛中重聚，届时克林甘所在的开拓者队将对阵卡斯尔所在的马刺队。
前康涅狄格大学球星多诺万·克林甘（左）和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔将于周六在拉斯维加斯举行的NBA夏季联赛中重聚，届时克林甘所在的开拓者队将对阵卡斯尔所在的马刺队。
点击查看原文：Castle eager for reunion with Clingan when Spurs face Blazers
Castle eager for reunion with Clingan when Spurs face Blazers
LAS VEGAS — Spurs rookie point guard Stephon Castle immediately reached for his phone after the NBA released its Summer League schedule two weeks ago.
Fingers flying around the keyboard, Castle sent some trash talk to Portland Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan.
“I definitely let him hear a little something,” Castle said.
Make no mistake: The text Clingan, 20, received from Castle, 19, was all in good fun. They’re tight after spending last season as vital cogs in Connecticut’s machine-like run to its second straight national title.
The bond adds some spice to the Spurs’ outing with the Blazers at 8 p.m. Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center. The game is set to air on ESPN2.
“It’s going to be cool just to be on the court with Donovan again, especially in this kind of setting,” Castle said. “This is what we work for.”
Impressed by the 6-foot-6 Castle’s tenacious, smothering defense, play-making skills and high basketball IQ, the Spurs selected the Georgia native fourth overall after his freshman season. After he spends this coming season learning the ropes from recently-signed future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, he’s expected to serve as the team’s floor general for years to come.
Likewise, the 7-2, 280-pound Clingan is viewed as a future force for the Blazers after they drafted him seventh overall following two championship seasons for the Huskies. For such a mountainous big man, he has great mobility, quickness and coordination, giving Portland what it hopes will be an impressive defensive anchor.
Add it all up, and the Vegas opener for both teams is must-watch TV for fans of the Spurs and Blazers eager to see their team’s potential future stars go at it. It should also draw big ratings in Connecticut, where Clingan was a prep star at Bristol Central High before signing with UConn.
“It’s going to be a fun, competitive game,” Castle said.
Before and after the clash, the former Huskies are sure to share a few laughs.
“He’s just super down to earth, a real cool guy,” Castle said of Clingan. “I met him before I even committed to UConn, and he was already super cool to me. You could just tell he was super genuine.”
Clingan’s affection for Castle was obvious last month when they sat down for an interview with Slamonline.com, in which Clingan teased Castle about his sleeping habits.
“When we were on the way back from Europe (with the Huskies in August 2023), I remember before we left out of Barcelona — like, I don’t think everyone was even on the plane yet — he was already asleep, and he didn’t wake up until the lights turned on when we landed in Boston,” Clingan said. "It was like an eight-hour flight, and he did not wake up once. Not even to use the bathroom. Nothing. And I was just like, That’s Steph! Like, when he’s sleeping, he’s sleeping. But when he’s up, he’s just hooping.
“But he just loves to nap. Every time I see him, he’s napping. On the bus, on the plane—he’s napping.”
Nobody slept on the Huskies last season. Not with Castle averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists while becoming UConn’s top perimeter defender and Clingan averaging 13 points, 7.4 boards and 2.5 blocks per game while dominating the paint.
“The biggest thing that sticks out is probably his presence on defense, how he can change shots and impact shots, block shots,” Castle said of Clingan.
Spurs rookie guard Harrison Ingram remembers well how tough the Huskies were last season. Ingram scored 20 points for North Carolina in a December matchup with UConn in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, but the Huskies prevailed 87-76.
“Big dude in the paint, tough,” Ingram said of Clingan. “Whenever you go into the paint, you are thinking about him.”
Both Castle and Clingan have immersed themselves in their respective teams’ playbooks as they transition from the college game to the more physical, intense, demanding NBA.
"It’s completely different,” Clingan told reporters in Portland. “It’s a different type of basketball. It’s obviously not college anymore. You’re really just trying to understand how all your teammates play. What they do to succeed. How I could set better ball screens. How I could hand the ball off better. Really, just try to pick up on different players and how they need me to play for them to be very successful.”
Castle is confident Clingan will prove in the NBA he can also be a force offensively.
“His offensive game is continually growing,” Castle said. “I know he can shoot the three. He didn’t have to for us last year at UConn, but coming into the league, I know he will expand his game. He pretty much has an all-around game. He can play-make, can do all those little things.”
Castle also has something to prove offensively after he shot only 26.7% from 3-point range as a Huskie on only 2.2 attempts per game.
“Coming from the best program in college basketball to showing everything that you have in your tool box in the NBA is definitely a blessing,” Castle said. “This is something we work towards and work for, so I’m just happy we both got the opportunity to kind of show it now.”
Former Connecticut stars Donovan Clingan, left, and Stephon Castle will reunited Saturday in an NBA summer league matchup between Clingan’s Trail Blazers and Castle’s Spurs in Las Vegas.
Former Connecticut stars Donovan Clingan, left, and Stephon Castle will reunited Saturday in an NBA summer league matchup between Clingan’s Trail Blazers and Castle’s Spurs in Las Vegas.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News