It was a minor surprise that Sam Young didn’t declare for the NBA Draft. That he didn’t even bother to “test the waters.” He had a break-out year, he’s one of the older juniors, and his knees have to be a source of constant concern.
Or perhaps he knew that he could very well go from fringe first-rounder in the mock drafts to undrafted on the day of the draft without showing some more. Maybe he realized that working the summer camps could help him as much as it does all the kids being recruited out of high school.
Following the Vince Carter camp, Young went to work at the LeBron Camp in Akron and left an impression with those that saw him. Whether it was a quick-hitter comment:
Pitt wing Sam Young showed serious inside-out game. The Panthers just always seem to find these kids, don’t they?
The inside-out game seemed to be what had all talking with regards to Sam Young.
Displayed inside/outside game unparalleled by anyone at the camp. The success of Young and Thabeet should have Big East fans pumped for an outstanding, competitive season.
Interestingly it was game performances from Young that stood out. Practice was something else.
Young struggled making shots in drills but was outstanding in the night scrimmages. When the Pittsburgh power forward is making his mid-range jumper, he is virtually unstoppable. He has patented a move that is unique to him and only him where he pump fakes with in centimeters of traveling which gets defenders well off their feet and they are completely unable to recover. It really works when he is hitting his jump shot though. He also proved he could defend players who are 5 to 6 inches taller than he. His superior strength keeps them away from the basket out the range where they are comfortable scoring.
After all of this, Young still got back to the ‘Burgh for summer league games where he dropped 40. I’m guessing the coaches are going to have to tie him down to get him to take a week or two off after the last few weeks of playing. Got to keep those knees fresh.
Of course other Pitt players were in the summer league games and Dwight Miller keeps getting rave reviews.
Miller has been a rebounding machine all summer, and on Wednesday night his offensive game was on. He finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds. The reason Miller gets so many rebounds is that he constantly hustles up and down the court. Because of his hustle and his willingness to be physical and do a lot of the dirty work underneath, he always finds himself in the right spot. Miller also blocked four shots.
I know its just summer league, but everything seems to suggest that Pitt may have found another excellent under-the-radar player in Miller.
