This week, the NCAA will begin March Madness, the annual tournament to determine the Division I national champion. With the play-in games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the full field will be determined in time for the Round of 64 to kick off on Thursday.
Following their 137-114 loss to the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards sit at 11-58. With the Detroit Pistons winners of three of their last seven games, the Wizards have the league's worst record and thus control the best odds in the NBA Draft lottery.
First-year general manager Will Dawkins has the Wizards exactly where they need to be in the first year of the team's rebuilding process. The current state of the roster allows the Wizards to be very open with their approach to the NBA Draft as no position is filled by a current star. Dawkins and the rest of the Wizards' front office will certainly be scouting these prospects as potential future franchise cornerstones during this year's NCAA Tournament.
Stephon Castle, UConn
The physical freshman guard from top-seeded Connecticut, Stephon Castle has a wide array of evaluations. His playstyle checks plenty of boxes, including playmaking, defense, and the ability to score through contact. However, the 6'6" guard has had trouble with his outside scoring, shooting just 28.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The 2023-24 Big East Rookie of the Year has a lot of qualities to his game, which has had some scouts project him well into the lottery. On the other hand, some scouts seem less keen to wait for his shooting to improve, which may allow the Wizards to snag Castle with their late first-round selection.