At the beginning of this year in college basketball this upcoming draft class was being compared to the 2003 class in terms of being one of the most talented of all time. Everyone also quickly realized this draft will have quite a few future stars and franchise changing players. With that said for the next few weeks I’ll be putting together scouting reports on each of the top prospects this year, as well as a few prospects that I think could be sleepers in such a deep draft. My first report was on Kentucky big man Julius Randle who announced this week he was entering the NBA draft as expected. If you missed that then you can read it here and now I’m turning my attention to the NBA expectations of Randle’s teammate James Young, who also announced he is declaring for the NBA draft early this week.
Strengths
Ask anyone who has seen him play and they will tell you Young’s biggest strength is being able to score with the best of them. There is a reason they call him Jimmy Buckets after all. He is well known as an outside shooter and was Kentucky’s best three point option throughout the year and even though it gets overshadowed by the heroics of Aaron Harrison, Young hit a number of huge shots to keep Kentucky alive in March. There were several times this year when Kentucky’s offense went stagnant in big games and Young took it upon himself to keep them in the game by filling up the basket during his teammates’ scoring drought.
Young can get his shot off over just about any wing there is since he is every bit of 6-foot-6 and has a huge wingspan of 6-11. Young may be known as a shooter but his athleticism is absolutely off the charts as well. On a UK team loaded with athletes he had some of the most incredible alley oop finishes on the year, and can get to the basket at anytime he wants. Not to mention he killed a guy with that dunk during the championship game. A guy who is a threat from behind the arch and can drive that hard to the rim will be a scoring threat at any level, including the NBA. Young also benefits from being left handed, as most guys aren’t used to guarding a lefty who can blow by them and score. Young has a very quick release on his jumpshot and will be able to create space and be a guy who can create his own shot at the NBA level which is something that isn’t easy to find, and something teams will always have a demand for.
Weaknesses
As a wing player there aren’t a lot of knocks on Young, but the biggest is his passing. Young isn’t a bad passer all-around but his decision making with his passes can be a bit off at times which can lead to frustrating turnovers, especially when it comes to passing in the post. Anyone who watches Young at Kentucky this year knows the struggle is real when it comes to him trying to make a solid entry pass to a big man in the post. While this isn’t a huge problem it is something that will need to be corrected by whichever team drafts him and will take some time to develop. If his timing improves and he can stay in rhythm with his passing then it won’t be a problem going forward in his development, but if not then it could limit the role he has on a contending team.
Another weakness of James at the next level could be his ball handling. He is an excellent catch-and-shoot player but can struggle sometimes off the dribble, and that has more to do with is lack of handling than his jumpshot. He won’t be running the offense anytime soon but if he gets a head of steam he can absolutely get to the rim, just don’t expect him to be crossing anyone over on the way into the lane. Young’s defense has been middle-of-the road in college, but one area he has struggled is gambling on defense. He still takes too many chances (leaving shooters in the corner, reacting too much to ball fakes) but that is something that should be fixed rather quickly by an NBA coaching staff once they get their hands on him.
NBA Comparison
The best NBA comparison especially early on in his NBA career will be a sixth man who can come off the bench and get buckets. I would liken him to a Jamal Crawford type, if Jamal Crawford forgot all his ball handling skills. James will take some shots he shouldn’t and make them and he will be a streaky shooter off the bench who will score in bunches when he gets minutes, while the team rests their starting scorers. Think if Manu Ginobili was given crazy athleticism and you have James Young. If Young can improve his passing skills and his basketball IQ then he will be a much better player than the comparisons I gave him, but as a rookie coming into the league he will be a buckets guy coming in and getting his shots up and some nights he may score six points and some nights he may score 26 points but no matter what he will come in off the bench and look to score.
Long term, I think Young could wind up being along the lines of a player like Trevor Ariza. He could be a huge role player that could swing a series in his team’s favor come playoff time. Ariza has slightly less athleticism but has caught a few bodies to put on posters as has James Young at Kentucky. Rest assured James will be able to get to the rim and score from behind the arc in the league, and both of those skills could make him a sixth man of the year at some point in his NBA career.
Who Will Draft Him?
Young is projected in most mock drafts to be taken at the end of the lottery, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team take him a little earlier after they get a chance to see him in workouts. One team that could take him at the 14 spot would be the Minnesota Timberwolves, who could use the outside shooting to compliment Kevin Love and Pekovic down low and could also use Young as an upgrade to Corey Brewer who has been inconsistent from the perimeter for the Timberwolves.
The Suns have also been rumored to be interested in Young along with Michigan’s Nik Stauskas. If both of them are there around the 13th pick then it will most likely come down to who performs better in workouts and private interviews prior to the draft. If Young were to go to Phoenix and be able to play alongside two excellent guards in Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic he could have a huge impact with his scoring as they could run him off of screens and simply ask him to shoot spot up three pointers and just not be a liability on defense.
One other interesting scenario if James slides down a few picks would be going to the Bulls. Chicago will go after Melo this summer but that is the longest of long shots at this point and they need someone who can score. Period. If you watched them lose to the Wizards it was because they simply didn’t have anyone who could score the ball. If Taj Gibson is your number one option on offense, then you need to draft someone who can get buckets and create his own shot. James Young could most definitely be that guy especially if Thibs can develop his defensive ability even a little bit.
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