By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-10-04 15:44:38
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。
周一上午，马刺队新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在胜利资本训练中心举行的马刺队媒体日活动上摆姿势拍照。
斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 有一瞬间仿佛看到了自己第一份新秀工资单在眼前闪过。
上周，这位新秀后卫与许多马刺队新队友共进晚餐，大家都在训练营开始前享受着最后的闲暇时光。
结账的时候，同桌的其他马刺球员假装要把账单递给卡斯尔。
就这样，卡斯尔一溜烟似的跑出了门。
“他可能跑得很快，”后卫特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) 说。
本周，琼斯在回忆起这个故事时笑了。这可能是迄今为止圣安东尼奥所有人见过的卡斯尔移动速度最快的一次。
在卡斯尔首次参加的NBA训练中，这位19岁的球员以其沉着冷静的比赛节奏给他的老队友们留下了深刻印象。
“他从不慌乱或加速，”琼斯说。“他按照自己的节奏走。”
有些球员按照自己的节奏前进。卡斯尔的节奏似乎更像是一首轻快的圆舞曲。
他耐心地选择自己的位置，以一种悠闲的周日漫步的姿态，不慌不忙地组织挡拆战术。
“对于一个新秀来说，很容易觉得自己必须以100英里的时速冲进来，因为每个人都那么快、那么强壮，”中锋扎克·柯林斯 (Zach Collins) 说。“他似乎很早就明白，节奏对他有很大帮助。”
这也是克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 今年夏天来到圣安东尼奥后，对这位前康涅狄格大学球星注意到的第一件事。
这位12届全明星控球后卫对马刺队最年轻球员的欣赏，在训练营开始后与日俱增。
“斯蒂芬太棒了，”保罗说。“你能从一些球员进入联盟的方式，看出他们在大学里是如何接受训练的。你能看出斯蒂芬接受过良好的训练。”
卡斯尔的成熟和对新工作的态度，让马刺队另一位30多岁的球员忍不住要查看这位新秀的出生证明。
“他的一举一动都像26岁，”前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 说。“他的比赛，他的感觉——他真的不会太着急。他有一种很好的沉稳气质。”
卡斯尔那种安静而不失自信的沉着，正是马刺队在6月份的选秀大会上用4号签选中他的原因之一。
在7月13日星期六举行的拉斯维加斯夏季联赛中，马刺队以83-77战胜波特兰队的比赛中，马刺队新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔带球突破上篮。
球队还看中了卡斯尔的身高（6英尺5英寸，210磅）、他在防守端的凶猛和全面性、他超高的篮球智商，以及他（至少最终）有望成为一名控球后卫，填补球队未来阵容中的长期空缺。
马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 在训练营开始前表示，卡斯尔在初期阶段的角色将是灵活的。球队在最初的几次训练中尝试了各种各样的阵容组合，卡斯尔有时在保罗或琼斯担任控球后卫的情况下打无球，有时则自己担任主控角色。
卡斯尔说，他在康涅狄格大学的唯一一个大学赛季中，无论是哪种角色都 comfortable 胜任。在那里，他帮助哈士奇队赢得了NCAA全国冠军，并被评为大东联盟的年度最佳新人。
“我认为我可以和球场上的任何四名球员搭档，所以我正在努力适应，”卡斯尔说。“能够灵活应变，我觉得这是一项很棒的技能。这可能是我最擅长的。”
与此同时，波波维奇对卡斯尔的建议是：“做你自己。”
“他知道我有多努力，我在球场上有多努力，”卡斯尔说。“所以他告诉我做我自己，走出去，要有信心。”
在马刺队训练营的第一周，卡斯尔给包括去年首轮秀在内的球员们留下了深刻印象。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 已经看到了足够多，相信卡斯尔是马刺队管理层选中的一位天才球员。
“我看到他适应得很好，没有任何问题，”文班亚马说。“我这样说，是因为我看到了他从一次训练到另一次训练的指数级进步。他的学习方式令人印象深刻。”
大部分的学习都发生在卡斯尔的脑海里。其他马刺球员说他会问问题，但在其他方面则表现得像一个强壮、沉默寡言的人。
强调“强壮”一词。
如果说卡斯尔的队友们对他注意到的第一件事是他的篮球智商，那么第二件事就是他的强壮体魄。
卡斯尔身材结实，大腿粗壮结实，像橡树树干一样，在球场上，他想去的地方，别人很难把他移动。
“对于一个新秀来说，他真的很强壮，”柯林斯说。“所以想在挡拆中把他从他的位置上推开是很困难的。他可以很轻松地到达自己的位置。”
保罗直截了当地说：“他强壮得要命。”
像任何进入NBA的少年一样，卡斯尔还有很多东西要学。他的位置仍然不固定。他很可能以替补身份开始这个赛季。
卡斯尔还没有在与NBA全主力阵容的比赛中打过球。这种情况应该会在周一发生改变，届时马刺队将在冰霜银行中心迎战俄克拉荷马雷霆队，开启他们的季前赛之旅。
他觉得自己很幸运，能有一位像39岁的保罗这样经验丰富、功成名就的球员来帮助他熟悉环境。
“他对比赛的理解是如此不同，”卡斯尔说。“能够从他在球场上的所作所为中汲取经验，即使他不直接告诉我。仅仅是看到他的表现，就提高了我的比赛水平。”
简而言之，卡斯尔已经开始成为保罗的粉丝了。
周五，当被问及如何评价卡斯尔的第一个训练周时，保罗在谈论时几乎是眉飞色舞。
“我刚进联盟的时候表现也不错，但我……”保罗说。
保罗的声音逐渐减弱，直到他无法说完这句话。也许保罗意识到，在一个十几岁的新秀还没有打过一场季前赛的情况下，就把他比作NBA历史上最伟大的控球后卫之一，可能会让人对他的期望过高。
有一点很清楚：卡斯尔不会得意忘形。他不会着急。他不会慌乱。
只要卡斯尔慢慢来，属于他的时代终将到来。
周一上午，马刺队的状元秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在胜利资本训练中心举行的马刺队媒体日活动上拍照。
点击查看原文：Rookie Stephon Castle already turning heads at San Antonio Spurs camp
Rookie Stephon Castle already turning heads at San Antonio Spurs camp
Spurs rookie Stephon Castle gets poses for pictures during Spurs Media Day activities Monday morning at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
For a brief moment, Stephon Castle saw his first rookie paycheck flash before his eyes.
The rookie guard was at dinner with many of his new Spurs teammates last week, with everyone enjoying one last respite before the starting of training camp.
When it came time to pay, the other Spurs at the table pretended to slide the check Castle’s way.
And just like that, Castle was up and out the door in a flash.
“He might have left quick,” guard Tre Jones said.
Jones laughed recalling the story this week. It might have been the fastest anyone in San Antonio has seen Castle move yet.
Throughout his first spate of NBA practices, the 19-year-old Castle has impressed his veteran teammates with the calm and deliberate pace at which he plays.
“He never gets rushed or sped up or anything,” Jones said. “He goes at his own pace.”
Some players march to the beat of their own drum. Castle’s seems to move at the rhythm of a breezy waltz.
He chooses his spots with patience, orchestrating pick and rolls with the unhurried gait of a leisurely Sunday stroll.
“It’s very easy for a rookie to feel like you’ve got to come in here at 100 mph because everybody is so fast and strong,” center Zach Collins said. “He seems to have figured out early on that pace is going to help him a lot.”
That is one of the first thing Chris Paul noticed about the former Connecticut standout upon both players’ arrival in San Antonio over the summer.
The 12-time All-Star point guard’s admiration for the Spurs’ youngest player has only grown throughout the start of training camp.
“Man, Steph is so good,” Paul said. “You can always tell some players when they came into the league how they were coached in college. You can tell Steph was well coached.”
Castle’s maturity and approach to his new job has the Spurs’ only other 30-something rushing to check the rookie’s birth certificate.
“He carries himself like he’s 26,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “His game, his feel – he doesn’t really get sped up too much He has a great poise about him.”
Castle’s quiet but unflappable sense of self-assurance was one trait that attracted the Spurs to him at the No. 4 pick in June.
Spurs rookie Stephon Castle drives to the basket in the Spurs’ 83-77 victory over Portland at the Las Vegas Summer League on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
The team also liked Castle’s size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds), his defensive ferocity and versatility, his high basketball IQ and the fact that he (at least eventually) projects to play point guard, filling a long-term hole on the roster going forward.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich indicated before camp Castle’s role would be fluid in the early going. The team has mixed and matched lineups throughout the initial few practices, with Castle sometimes playing off the ball with Paul or Jones at point and other times taking the lead role himself.
Castle says he was comfortable filling either role in his lone college season at UConn, where he helped the Huskies win an NCAA national championship and was named the Big East’s Freshman of the Year.
“I think I can play with any four players on the court, so I’m trying to fit in that way,” Castle said. “Being able to be flexible, I feel like that’s a great skill to have. It’s probably my best one.”
Popovich’s advice to Castle, meanwhile? “Just be yourself.”
“He knows how hard I work, how hard I play on the court,” Castle said. “So he’s telling me to be myself, go out there and be confident.”
Among the players Castle has impressed during the first week of Spurs camp is last year’s first-round draft pick.
Victor Wembanyama has already seen enough to believe Castle was a home run of a selection for the Spurs’ front office.
“I see him fitting very well, with no problem,” Wembanyama said. “I say that because I’ve seen some exponential progression from him from one practice to the other. The way he learns is pretty impressive.”
Most of that learning occurs quietly inside Castle’s head. Other Spurs say he will ask questions, but otherwise projects as the strong, silent type.
Emphasis on the word “strong.”
If the first thing Castle’s teammates noticed about him was his basketball brain, the second was his brawn.
Solid and sturdy, with quads the thickness and consistency of an oak tree trunk, Castle isn’t easily moved from any place he wants to be on the court.
“He’s a strong dude for a rookie,” Collins said. “So pushing him off his spot in the pick and roll is going to be tough. He gets to his spots pretty easily.”
Paul put it this way, unsolicited: “He’s strong as hell.”
Like any teenager entering the NBA, Castle still has much to learn. His position remains in flux. He is likely to begin the season coming off the bench.
Castle has yet to play in a game against a full squad of NBA players. That should come Monday, when the Spurs open their preseason slate against Oklahoma City at the Frost Bank Center.
He feels fortunate to have a player as experienced and accomplished as the 39-year-old Paul to help show him the ropes.
“He sees the game so much different,” Castle said. “Just being able to pick up on stuff he does on the court, even when he’s not just telling it to me. Me just seeing it has improved my game.”
In short order, Castle has already begun to make a fan of Paul.
Asked to assess Castle’s first week of camp Friday, Paul practically glowed as he talked.
“I was nice when I came in as a rookie but I …” Paul said.
Paul’s voice trailed off before he could complete the sentence. Perhaps Paul realized comparing a teenaged rookie to one of the greatest point guards in the history of the NBA before he had even played a preseason game might set expectations a bit too high.
This much is clear: Castle won’t get ahead of himself. He won’t be rushed. He won’t be hurried.
Castle’s time will come, if he simply takes his time.
Spurs top draft pick Stephon Castle has his picture taken during Spurs Media Day activities Monday morning at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News
