But he doesn’t seem particularly enthused about doing so.

Ready to talk more, too, if only because Coach Jamie Dixon wants him to.

“They told me to be more social, be more of a people person and open up and get out of my shell,” Young said. “Sometimes that’s not me, but I have to do that to please the coach.”

Part of why he didn’t talk much last year, he explained was frustration with the nagging physical problems. Even with all of the pain in his knees, Young wouldn’t stop playing at all times. Not letting himself rest and improve. Even skipping knee treatments. At least until the coaches made him.

One problem Dixon struggles with is Young’s playing too much, not too little. During the summer, Young often stops in at the Petersen Events Center at night and joins any one-on-one or pickup game he can find.

“He’d play you guys if you’d show up,” Dixon joked to a room of reporters.

At first, Young said he found it difficult to honor Dixon’s request. Playing daily was a passion long before he led Friendly High in Fort Washington, Md., to state titles in 2003 and 2004. He spent another year at a prep school before signing with Pittsburgh.

“Me being a gym rat is what got me here,” Young said. “Me loving the game is what got me here, so I can’t stop doing that. At the same time, I’ve got to be careful and I’ve got to watch who I play and where I play. I used to play outside a lot, and now I don’t. It’s just a matter of being smart.”

Young is ready to make the “junior leap” that several interior Pitt players have made in the new millenium. To be the guy on both ends of the court.

“People are going to watch out for me,” Young said. “My knees are healthier. I feel a lot more confident about jumping. Sometimes I would go into the lane last year and I would hesitate to jump off one leg.

“There was a lot of stuff last year that was bothering me. It was frustrating. I was definitely not 100 percent.”

…

“It’s a matter of me taking care of it,” Young said. “Last year, I would play and play and play. I knew my knees were bad. But sometimes I wouldn’t get treatment. If I take care of it, I’m almost positive nothing will go wrong with it.

“Right now it’s 99.9 percent. When I play on it, I don’t feel it at all. That was my main focus over the summer. If I was going to compete, I needed to be 100 percent.”

…

“When you’re in the background, you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, and you wait for that chance for it to be your time,” Young said. “Sometimes it doesn’t always work that way.

“Now I’m [eager]. I feel like I’ve been ready to step up long before now. This is my time. I’m ready to step in and become one of the leaders of the team and handle my role appropriately.”

Hopefully, his knees will hold up for the season, with barely a twinge.