diff --git a/src/daft-connect/src/translation.rs b/src/daft-connect/src/translation.rs
index bb2d73b507..a03fe113a7 100644
--- a/src/daft-connect/src/translation.rs
+++ b/src/daft-connect/src/translation.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ mod literal;
 mod logical_plan;
 mod schema;
 
-pub use datatype::to_spark_datatype;
+pub use datatype::{to_daft_datatype, to_spark_datatype};
 pub use expr::to_daft_expr;
 pub use literal::to_daft_literal;
 pub use logical_plan::to_logical_plan;
diff --git a/src/daft-connect/src/translation/datatype.rs b/src/daft-connect/src/translation/datatype.rs
index 9a40844464..d5f186c659 100644
--- a/src/daft-connect/src/translation/datatype.rs
+++ b/src/daft-connect/src/translation/datatype.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-use daft_schema::dtype::DataType;
+use daft_schema::{dtype::DataType, field::Field, time_unit::TimeUnit};
+use eyre::{bail, ensure, WrapErr};
 use spark_connect::data_type::Kind;
 use tracing::warn;
 
@@ -112,3 +113,154 @@ pub fn to_spark_datatype(datatype: &DataType) -> spark_connect::DataType {
         _ => unimplemented!("Unsupported datatype: {datatype:?}"),
     }
 }
+
+// todo(test): add tests for this esp in Python
+pub fn to_daft_datatype(datatype: &spark_connect::DataType) -> eyre::Result<DataType> {
+    let Some(kind) = &datatype.kind else {
+        bail!("Datatype is required");
+    };
+
+    let type_variation_err = "Custom type variation reference not supported";
+
+    match kind {
+        Kind::Null(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Null)
+        }
+        Kind::Binary(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Binary)
+        }
+        Kind::Boolean(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Boolean)
+        }
+        Kind::Byte(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Int8)
+        }
+        Kind::Short(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Int16)
+        }
+        Kind::Integer(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Int32)
+        }
+        Kind::Long(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Int64)
+        }
+        Kind::Float(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Float32)
+        }
+        Kind::Double(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Float64)
+        }
+        Kind::Decimal(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+
+            let Some(precision) = value.precision else {
+                bail!("Decimal precision is required");
+            };
+
+            let Some(scale) = value.scale else {
+                bail!("Decimal scale is required");
+            };
+
+            let precision = usize::try_from(precision)
+                .wrap_err("Decimal precision must be a non-negative integer")?;
+
+            let scale =
+                usize::try_from(scale).wrap_err("Decimal scale must be a non-negative integer")?;
+
+            Ok(DataType::Decimal128(precision, scale))
+        }
+        Kind::String(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Utf8)
+        }
+        Kind::Char(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Utf8)
+        }
+        Kind::VarChar(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Utf8)
+        }
+        Kind::Date(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            Ok(DataType::Date)
+        }
+        Kind::Timestamp(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+
+            // todo(?): is this correct?
+
+            Ok(DataType::Timestamp(TimeUnit::Microseconds, None))
+        }
+        Kind::TimestampNtz(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+
+            // todo(?): is this correct?
+
+            Ok(DataType::Timestamp(TimeUnit::Microseconds, None))
+        }
+        Kind::CalendarInterval(_) => bail!("Calendar interval type not supported"),
+        Kind::YearMonthInterval(_) => bail!("Year-month interval type not supported"),
+        Kind::DayTimeInterval(_) => bail!("Day-time interval type not supported"),
+        Kind::Array(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            let element_type = to_daft_datatype(
+                value
+                    .element_type
+                    .as_ref()
+                    .ok_or_else(|| eyre::eyre!("Array element type is required"))?,
+            )?;
+            Ok(DataType::List(Box::new(element_type)))
+        }
+        Kind::Struct(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            let fields = value
+                .fields
+                .iter()
+                .map(|f| {
+                    let field_type = to_daft_datatype(
+                        f.data_type
+                            .as_ref()
+                            .ok_or_else(|| eyre::eyre!("Struct field type is required"))?,
+                    )?;
+                    Ok(Field::new(&f.name, field_type))
+                })
+                .collect::<eyre::Result<Vec<_>>>()?;
+            Ok(DataType::Struct(fields))
+        }
+        Kind::Map(value) => {
+            ensure!(value.type_variation_reference == 0, type_variation_err);
+            let key_type = to_daft_datatype(
+                value
+                    .key_type
+                    .as_ref()
+                    .ok_or_else(|| eyre::eyre!("Map key type is required"))?,
+            )?;
+            let value_type = to_daft_datatype(
+                value
+                    .value_type
+                    .as_ref()
+                    .ok_or_else(|| eyre::eyre!("Map value type is required"))?,
+            )?;
+
+            let map = DataType::Map {
+                key: Box::new(key_type),
+                value: Box::new(value_type),
+            };
+
+            Ok(map)
+        }
+        Kind::Variant(_) => bail!("Variant type not supported"),
+        Kind::Udt(_) => bail!("User-defined type not supported"),
+        Kind::Unparsed(_) => bail!("Unparsed type not supported"),
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr.rs b/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr.rs
index bcbadf9737..f5307fae9d 100644
--- a/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr.rs
+++ b/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,18 @@
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use eyre::{bail, Context};
-use spark_connect::{expression as spark_expr, Expression};
+use spark_connect::{
+    expression as spark_expr,
+    expression::{
+        cast::{CastToType, EvalMode},
+        sort_order::{NullOrdering, SortDirection},
+    },
+    Expression,
+};
 use tracing::warn;
 use unresolved_function::unresolved_to_daft_expr;
 
-use crate::translation::to_daft_literal;
+use crate::translation::{to_daft_datatype, to_daft_literal};
 
 mod unresolved_function;
 
@@ -69,11 +76,64 @@ pub fn to_daft_expr(expression: &Expression) -> eyre::Result<daft_dsl::ExprRef>
 
             Ok(child.alias(name))
         }
-        spark_expr::ExprType::Cast(_) => bail!("Cast expressions not yet supported"),
+        spark_expr::ExprType::Cast(c) => {
+            // Cast { expr: Some(Expression { common: None, expr_type: Some(UnresolvedAttribute(UnresolvedAttribute { unparsed_identifier: "id", plan_id: None, is_metadata_column: None })) }), eval_mode: Unspecified, cast_to_type: Some(Type(DataType { kind: Some(String(String { type_variation_reference: 0, collation: "" })) })) }
+            // thread 'tokio-runtime-worker' panicked at src/daft-connect/src/trans
+            println!("got cast {c:?}");
+            let spark_expr::Cast {
+                expr,
+                eval_mode,
+                cast_to_type,
+            } = &**c;
+
+            let Some(expr) = expr else {
+                bail!("Cast expression is required");
+            };
+
+            let expr = to_daft_expr(expr)?;
+
+            let Some(cast_to_type) = cast_to_type else {
+                bail!("Cast to type is required");
+            };
+
+            let data_type = match cast_to_type {
+                CastToType::Type(kind) => to_daft_datatype(kind).wrap_err_with(|| {
+                    format!("Failed to convert spark datatype to daft datatype: {kind:?}")
+                })?,
+                CastToType::TypeStr(s) => {
+                    bail!("Cast to type string not yet supported; tried to cast to {s}");
+                }
+            };
+
+            let eval_mode = EvalMode::try_from(*eval_mode)
+                .wrap_err_with(|| format!("Invalid cast eval mode: {eval_mode}"))?;
+
+            warn!("Ignoring cast eval mode: {eval_mode:?}");
+
+            Ok(expr.cast(&data_type))
+        }
         spark_expr::ExprType::UnresolvedRegex(_) => {
             bail!("Unresolved regex expressions not yet supported")
         }
-        spark_expr::ExprType::SortOrder(_) => bail!("Sort order expressions not yet supported"),
+        spark_expr::ExprType::SortOrder(s) => {
+            let spark_expr::SortOrder {
+                child,
+                direction,
+                null_ordering,
+            } = &**s;
+
+            let Some(_child) = child else {
+                bail!("Sort order child is required");
+            };
+
+            let _sort_direction = SortDirection::try_from(*direction)
+                .wrap_err_with(|| format!("Invalid sort direction: {direction}"))?;
+
+            let _sort_nulls = NullOrdering::try_from(*null_ordering)
+                .wrap_err_with(|| format!("Invalid sort nulls: {null_ordering}"))?;
+
+            bail!("Sort order expressions not yet supported");
+        }
         spark_expr::ExprType::LambdaFunction(_) => {
             bail!("Lambda function expressions not yet supported")
         }
diff --git a/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr/unresolved_function.rs b/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr/unresolved_function.rs
index ffb8c802ce..230924c5de 100644
--- a/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr/unresolved_function.rs
+++ b/src/daft-connect/src/translation/expr/unresolved_function.rs
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ pub fn unresolved_to_daft_expr(f: &UnresolvedFunction) -> eyre::Result<daft_dsl:
 
     match function_name.as_str() {
         "count" => handle_count(arguments).wrap_err("Failed to handle count function"),
+        "isnotnull" => handle_isnotnull(arguments).wrap_err("Failed to handle isnotnull function"),
+        "isnull" => handle_isnull(arguments).wrap_err("Failed to handle isnull function"),
         n => bail!("Unresolved function {n} not yet supported"),
     }
 }
@@ -42,3 +44,29 @@ pub fn handle_count(arguments: Vec<daft_dsl::ExprRef>) -> eyre::Result<daft_dsl:
 
     Ok(count)
 }
+
+pub fn handle_isnull(arguments: Vec<daft_dsl::ExprRef>) -> eyre::Result<daft_dsl::ExprRef> {
+    let arguments: [daft_dsl::ExprRef; 1] = match arguments.try_into() {
+        Ok(arguments) => arguments,
+        Err(arguments) => {
+            bail!("requires exactly one argument; got {arguments:?}");
+        }
+    };
+
+    let [arg] = arguments;
+
+    Ok(arg.is_null())
+}
+
+pub fn handle_isnotnull(arguments: Vec<daft_dsl::ExprRef>) -> eyre::Result<daft_dsl::ExprRef> {
+    let arguments: [daft_dsl::ExprRef; 1] = match arguments.try_into() {
+        Ok(arguments) => arguments,
+        Err(arguments) => {
+            bail!("requires exactly one argument; got {arguments:?}");
+        }
+    };
+
+    let [arg] = arguments;
+
+    Ok(arg.not_null())
+}
diff --git a/tests/connect/test_basic_column.py b/tests/connect/test_basic_column.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a992fa37e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/connect/test_basic_column.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pyspark.sql.functions import col
+from pyspark.sql.types import StringType
+
+
+def test_column_operations(spark_session):
+    # Create DataFrame from range(10)
+    df = spark_session.range(10)
+
+    # Test __getattr__
+    # todo: https://github.com/Eventual-Inc/Daft/issues/3433
+    # df_attr = df.select(col("id").desc())  # Fix: call desc() as method
+    # assert df_attr.toPandas()["id"].iloc[0] == 9, "desc should sort in descending order"
+
+    # Test __getitem__
+    # todo: add extract value
+    # df_item = df.select(col("id")[0])
+    # assert df_item.toPandas()["id"].iloc[0] == 0, "getitem should return first element"
+
+    # Test alias
+    df_alias = df.select(col("id").alias("my_number"))
+    assert "my_number" in df_alias.columns, "alias should rename column"
+    assert df_alias.toPandas()["my_number"].equals(df.toPandas()["id"]), "data should be unchanged"
+
+    # Test cast
+    df_cast = df.select(col("id").cast(StringType()))
+    assert df_cast.schema.fields[0].dataType == StringType(), "cast should change data type"
+
+    # Test isNotNull/isNull
+    df_null = df.select(col("id").isNotNull().alias("not_null"), col("id").isNull().alias("is_null"))
+    assert df_null.toPandas()["not_null"].iloc[0], "isNotNull should be True for non-null values"
+    assert not df_null.toPandas()["is_null"].iloc[0], "isNull should be False for non-null values"
+
+    # Test name
+    df_name = df.select(col("id").name("renamed_id"))
+    assert "renamed_id" in df_name.columns, "name should rename column"
+    assert df_name.toPandas()["renamed_id"].equals(df.toPandas()["id"]), "data should be unchanged"