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Stock continues to soar for Young

Those familiar with basketball in the city of St. Louis always knew what B.J. Young was capable of. Young made an impact last summer for St. Louis Gameface on the AAU circuit, but still the lack of a high school resume had coaching shying away. Now after yet another huge start to the AAU circuit the calls are coming in, and Young's stock is continuing to soar.
At the beginning of the AAU season Young's name realistically wasn't even on the radar to be a part of the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp. Young wasn't a national name, and he wasn't racking up the college attention. However things changed with a signature performance at the Spiece Run 'N Slam, and since then he hasn't slowed down, and that included an impressive scoring display at NBA Camp.
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"I really liked all the campers," said Young. "We all got real close. I got to measure myself up against the best players and see where I am at. I took tips from the campers and looked to add them to my game. I think I measured up pretty good and it gave me confidence that I could play with the best."
With several high level performances in a row, Young is now firmly on the national radar and college coaches have been racing to place calls to his coaches and family.
"I talked to Marquette, Indiana, Louisville, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Missouri, Xavier, Purdue, Baylor, Virginia Tech, and Arizona," listed Young.
When asked if he ever saw this all coming at the beginning of the summer, he said, "Not to be gloating, but I feel that it has been deserved. I have been working my whole life and doing good, but I didn't get exposure since my AAU team is small. I knew once I had a chance to get on a major scale that I would get the exposure and prove myself."
"I was expecting it to happen because I have been in the gym every day," he continued. "I try to get up 2,500 shots per day and I work with my brother every day. I was just working hard for this to happen."
One of the schools that has done a good job of getting involved with Young's recruitment has been Indiana. The Hoosiers hosted him on an unofficial visit and he was impressed with what he saw.
"I really love Indiana," Young explained. "I loved Coach (Tom) Crean and Coach (Steve) McClain they both showed me all around. The gym was great and the new facilities were nice as well. I really like how Coach Crean coaches, but my favorite thing is that I would have 24 hour access to the gym where I could always work on my game."
At the moment schools aren't coming through with scholarship offers because of his grades and the fact that Young only played one semester of high school basketball.
"They are telling me just to keep working on my game and on my grades," Young explained about what coaches are telling him. "My grades are getting better and I just need to raise my ACT score. They all tell me if there is anything that I ever need to call them."
Obviously the fact that he hasn't had much of an opportunity at the high school level is a bit of a red flag for some, and Young understands that. He however hopes that people give him a chance going forward and really get to know him.
"I would say that I understand the critics and that there are things in my past, but everybody makes mistakes," said Young. "If you get to know me you would see that isn't the type of person that I am. People might hear things, but if people talk to me and know who I am that isn't me. I would just people to talk to me before they judge me, but I understand that is how it is."
Currently Young is a four-star prospect who is rated No. 58 overall. He however should see a bump in his ranking when they are updated.
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