NBA Draft: The Utah Jazz select Sam Young

June 17, 5:17 PMUtah Jazz ExaminerJeff Lockard

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First Round Selection #20 - Sam Young (6'6" 210, Small Forward) Senior, Pittsburgh

 Bio:  Sam Young proved early in his basketball career that he's a winner.  As a high school junior, Young led his team to a 25-2 record and a state title.  During his senior season, Young helped guide his team to a 25-1 record and a second consecutive state title.

After high school Young spent one year at Hargrave Military Academy where he earned National Prep School Player of the Year honors after averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds per game. Hargrave finished the season ranked second in the country with a 25-1 record.  Young arrived at the University of Pittsburgh as a top 100 recruit according to Rivals.com.

Young got off to a relatively slow start in his first two years at Pitt, but burst onto the scene during his junior season.  He earned All-Big East First Team honors, and was named the Big East Most Improved Player of the Year in addition to receiving All-American Honorable Mention from the Associated Press.  He was also named as a finalist for the Wooden Award.

Following an excellent senior season, Young was named to the Associated Press All-American Third Team and for the second consecutive year was named to the All-Big East First Team and a Wooden Award finalist.  Sam Young finished his four year career at Pittsburgh with a record of 111-30.

Strengths:

• Perimeter defense
• Athleticism
• NBA ready
• Toughness
• Work ethic / Willingness to improve
• Ability to score in the low post
• Effective in catch-and-shoot situations
• High Basketball IQ / Intelligent
• Plays within himself

Weaknesses:

• Lacks fluidity on offense
• Struggles to create his own shot
• Ball handling

Jazz select Sam Young:  One look at Utah's list of free agents and it's clear the Jazz have holes that need to be filled. The point guard, power forward and center positions will be hit the hardest by free agency, but come draft night the Jazz should select the best available talent regardless of positional need. This draft class is extremely thin at the power forward and center positions and there's no indication that any of the high profile interior players will fall to the Jazz. Hopefully, the Jazz organization is a believer that reaching on a player simply to fill a need often ends with regret.

Most believe this is a weak draft, but there is depth of talent at certain positions. While there are few players who's future screams stardom, there are several that can consistently contribute on NBA rosters. Sam Young is one of those players. He has his limitations, but has developed his game around them utilizing his skill-set with efficiency. Young is an exceptional athlete with an NBA ready body. His lateral foot speed, strength and leaping ability made him an excellent perimeter defender in college and it should translate into the pros. Maybe even more important than his physical attributes is his commitment to the defensive end of the court. The majority of NBA players are capable of defending their position, but most lack the commitment to work on that portion of their game. Offensively, Young excels in catch-in-shoot situations and is a terrific finisher around the rim due to his explosiveness and exceptional leaping ability. Young's three point shooting improved during his four year college career and should continue to improve given his propensity to refine his game.

His inability to put the ball on the floor and create shots for himself is a concern, but Utah's style of offense and Deron Williams' play-making ability will allow Young time to develop that aspect of his game.  Despite his lack of creativity, Young proved he knows how to score and did so at a high level in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball.  If the Jazz select Sam Young they're drafting a guy who understands basketball, is committed to defense and is a tough, rugged competitor.    

2008-09 Season Statistics 

2008-09 NCAA Tournament Statistics