Not familiar with Young? C's brass thinks you will be

http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/not-familiar-young-cs-brass-thinks-you-will-be


Not familiar with Young? C's brass thinks you will be

September 9, 2014, 1:00 pm

A. Sherrod Blakely


BOSTON — When you start to break down this Boston Celtics roster, it's filled with men of mystery.

Tyler Zeller? Marcus Thornton?

Even the ones we do know, like Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, bring a certain element of dubiety to the game.

But few Celtics are as big a wild-card this season, as rookie James Young.

"Potential" is the spoken word of choice by most in describing the 6-foot-6 wing.

But his length and athleticism might put him in line to be talked about when it comes to playing time this season.

Young has been among the contingent of Celtics players in town recently.

"He's been working hard," Celtics assistant coach Walter McCarty said of Young. "We're exited about where he's at."

Boston's depth chart at shooting guard is deep, with Avery Bradley and Marcus Thornton leading the way. When you throw in Evan Turner who can play the position as well as small forward, opportunities - for now at least - don't seem all that plentiful for Young.

And that's not even taking into account Chris Johnson and Chris Babb who were on the team last season.

But the Celtics didn't hesitate to tab Young when they were on the clock at No. 17 and he was still available despite being projected as a lottery (top-14) pick.

"We wanted shooting," said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. "That was a big part of that position. But we also wanted the best guy for that spot that could be versatile in doing that and other things. You look at that as a good need for us at that time."

At 6-6, Young has ideal size for a shooting guard. But his wing span which is more than 7-feet, enables him to potentially play some at small forward as well and maybe most important, defend multiple positions.

But for that to come about, Young will have to get past several veterans which might seem daunting for any player, let alone someone so young.

However, the 19-year-old says he's used to being the youngster who has to prove himself to older, more seasoned peers.

That experience, he believes, will bode well for him in Boston.

"I always had a chip on my shoulder," Young said. "That carried on to middle school, then high school and then college. I'm transferring it here. I'm not going to change. I'm going to play with a chip on my shoulder."

There's nothing he can do to counter the experience that his teammates for the most part will have over him. But playing with an edge can close the gap some.

McCarty, who spent seven-plus seasons with the Celtics as a player, advises all young players to learn as much as they can, quickly.

"Defense, footwork ... just paying attention to every little detail that will make up for some of the knowledge you may lack," McCarty said.

Said Danny Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations: "He has a lot of potential, a lot of defensive and offensive potential; a well-rounded player."

So far, Young has been a willing student when it comes to listening to his more seasoned teammates and coaching staff.

"He's trying to learn as much as he can before we get started (with training camp)," McCarty said. "He's a guy that's going to be able to help us at some point. He works hard. He has a lot of ability. He's very athletic, and he's very long so we expect him to be a good defensive player at some point. We're excited about where he's at."

---

It would seem that the general consensus is that Young will have to wait his turn for a bit. I suppose that is the most probably scenario, considering the depth at SF. But there are questions about Wallace's return and how effective Turner will be. I guess we can throw Thornton into that mix as a tweener. I expect Green's job to be safe in hand (for the time being).

Young's upside certainly makes him a bright spot. I just hope that he's able to cultivate the proper mentality that all of the great wing players have.

SideNote: What's with Blakely's one-sentence paragraphs?



KJ

k_j_88 wrote:SideNote: What's with Blakely's one-sentence paragraphs?

It's the equivalent of a middle schooler using a large font and double-spacing -- that's how you make an essay appear to be longer than it actually is.