Saint Louis guard on the rise
For those that follow high school basketball nationally, it seems as if B.J. Young is coming out of nowhere. Truth be told, those near his native St. Louis have always known that the 6-foot-3 combo guard at Florissant (Mo.) McCluer North can play.
However, school transfers and grades had kept Young out of the spotlight until now. Seemingly on track, Young has used a giant spring with St. Louis Gameface to catapult himself into the national rankings where he sits at number 58 in the Rivals150 for the class of 2011.
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"It's feels kind of good to get all this attention," Young told Rivals.com. "I've been working at it a long time and it didn't feel like I was getting noticed. I'm going to keep working hard every day to improve my game."
Rather than place blame on others or say he'd been underrated, Young takes full responsibility for his absence from the floor during his high school career.
"That's on me. I was young, I made a couple of mistakes in my life," said Young. "I'm trying to keep my head up and improve over that stuff."
While admitting he made some poor choices at a younger age, Young wants people to know that he's a good kid. But, he understands that actions speak louder than words.
"Just because I made some mistakes and hung out with the wrong crowd when I was younger doesn't mean I'm not a good kid," said Young. "I'm trying to respect everybody and just show what I'm about by doing the right things and working hard."
As of late, he's been brilliant on the floor. The skinny combo guard has an electric first step, can score and can get others involved. Most of all, he can attack.
"My strength is getting to the cup or using my mid-range game," said Young of his game. "I can pull up for the three, but I really like to get to the rim and try to dunk on people."
For now, Young is just taking things step by step and seeing where that leads him. He's put himself on the map, is hearing from schools but is in no rush to make a decision on his future.
"Southern Illinois, Illinois State, I've talked to Arizona. There's Purdue, Minnesota and Xavier and that's about it right now. I'm not very far along in the process at all."