The Huskies were truly a pack on Wednesday night in Brooklyn.
As Stephon Castle learned he was being taken No. 4 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Spurs, the UConn product shared a warm moment with his old head coach Dan Hurley and former teammate and fellow draftee Donovan Clingan.
After Castle’s name was called, he gave separate hugs to Hurley and Clingan, who was taken three picks later by the Trail Blazers.
It was an emotional moment for the trio, coming off a national title win with UConn this past year.
Hurley seemed particularly stoked to see his two stars get drafted in the top 10 this year, as he held up a Trail Blazers hat in his left hand with a Spurs cap in his right after they were both picked.
Castle spoke about what an honor it was to play with Hurley and how excited he is to now play under the tutelage of Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.
“I was just playing for the best coach in college basketball and now going to the NBA and playing for a legendary coach like Coach Pop, it’s definitely a blessing,” Castle told reporters after he was picked.
Hurley, speaking with ESPN’s Monica McNutt while standing next to Castle, said he was excited for his one-year wonder to go to a team like the Spurs, who now have the Huskies star to go alongside last year’s No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama.
“The Spurs value winning, they value workers, they value championships,” Hurley said. “This is just the perfect player for them to draft. For what they do in that organization, this guy is just scratching the surface.”