The education of Ryan Young

[JournCat]

This is a good Athletic piece on the bigs of the Big Ten through Young's eyes:

https://theathletic.com/1666665/2020/03/11/revenge-of-the-big-ten-bigs/

“I mean … ” he said, pausing, with half-a-laugh, “yeah, it’s tough when you’re playing against an All-Big Ten center who is on (NBA) draft boards and then, you know, ya look at the next game and there’s just another one coming up. It’s hard remaining confident and taking away the little (positives).”

also:

Minnesota will have to get past Northwestern first. Maybe Young will have something to say about that. In this league, the 5-position is the ultimate status marker and he’s happy to be here, trying to make a name for itself.

He just happened to arrive at a historically bad time.

It’s all how you look at it, though, he explained. A year from now, a slew of these monsters will be off to the NBA and he’ll be back, better than ever. Maybe it’ll be his turn to show a thing or two.

The one thing he knows for sure is it can’t possibly be any more difficult than this year’s revenge of the bigs.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Kofi came out of nowhere. He was a physical terror.

Garza had developed his game over 3 seasons into a lottery pick.

That guy on Maryland sure can play too. Oturu, Wesson, Davis all look like they can play in the league.

How did Young fare against these guys?

 

[JournCat]

Kofi came out of nowhere. He was a physical terror.

Garza had developed his game over 3 seasons into a lottery pick.

That guy on Maryland sure can play too. Oturu, Wesson, Davis all look like they can play in the league.

How did Young fare against these guys?

He had nice games at Maryland (17 pts on 8-11 FGs) and Illinois (12 pts on 4-5 with a three). Wesson actually didn't play that well against us. Garza, Jalen Smith, and Oturu obviously did. I don't think Young will ever be good enough to handle guys like that on his own, but the rotation of bigs may be able to as they mature.

 

[clarificationcat]

Kofi came out of nowhere. He was a physical terror.

Garza had developed his game over 3 seasons into a lottery pick.

That guy on Maryland sure can play too. Oturu, Wesson, Davis all look like they can play in the league.

How did Young fare against these guys?

Garza is not a lottery pick. He's not in the top 50 in most NBA draft rankings. He's a great college player, though, so that doesn't make it any easier to play against him. He's just kind of at in-between size for the NBA given his lack of explosiveness. In a way, he's the perfect college player. He's dominant and he stays for all 4 years. Really hard to find.

 

[jensberg]

Young battles and tries really hard he just has no Hops and look so clumsy out there

 

[lou v]

He had nice games at Maryland (17 pts on 8-11 FGs) and Illinois (12 pts on 4-5 with a three). Wesson actually didn't play that well against us. Garza, Jalen Smith, and Oturu obviously did. I don't think Young will ever be good enough to handle guys like that on his own, but the rotation of bigs may be able to as they mature.

Young had a great game vs. “Sticks” at Maryland — he went right at him and was able to score at will.

Young needs to get a lot stronger and I don’t think he’ll ever be a great defender. He’s not very athletic. But he’s got some skills. He has great footwork and some nice moves in the post. He can be a force offensively.

 

[JournCat]

Young had a great game vs. “Sticks” at Maryland — he went right at him and was able to score at will.

Young needs to get a lot stronger and I don’t think he’ll ever be a great defender. He’s not very athletic. But he’s got some skills. He has great footwork and some nice moves in the post. He can be a force offensively.

The question will be can he stay with big men who run around picks and shoot 3s like Oturu did yesterday. When this year's crop graduates or leaves for the NBA, more guys like them will come in. It's possible his best future is as a leader of the second unit while maybe Nance or Jones play the 5.

 

[Gladeskat]

He doesn't look clumsy to me at all. He shows nice footwork and moves around the basket.

 

[NJCat]

It's possible his best future is as a leader of the second unit while maybe Nance or Jones play the 5.

I believe you're forgetting someone large who will be part of the 5 future.......

 

[JournCat]

I believe you're forgetting someone large who will be part of the 5 future.......

Nicholson seems like a redshirt candidate given how many bigs are on the roster, and I'm assuming we don't think Beran will ever play center.

 

[willycat]

Kofi came out of nowhere. He was a physical terror.

Garza had developed his game over 3 seasons into a lottery pick.

That guy on Maryland sure can play too. Oturu, Wesson, Davis all look like they can play in the league.

How did Young fare against these guys?

Not very well.

 

[NJCat]

Nicholson seems like a redshirt candidate given how many bigs are on the roster, and I'm assuming we don't think Beran will ever play center.

I was referring to Nicholson (never entertained the thought of Beran or Nance playing the 5). Agree it would be ideal for him to red shirt next year, but another season of Young and no back-up (Jones, bless his heart, is a 4 not a 5) when pressure will be on COllins to stop the losing schneid probably means he will play. Perhaps Collins can find a 5th year 5 back-up to give 8-10 minutes a game to rest Young.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I was referring to Nicholson (never entertained the thought of Beran or Nance playing the 5). Agree it would be ideal for him to red shirt next year, but another season of Young and no back-up (Jones, bless his heart, is a 4 not a 5) when pressure will be on COllins to stop the losing schneid probably means he will play. Perhaps Collins can find a 5th year 5 back-up to give 8-10 minutes a game to rest Young.

NU doesn’t need a grad transfer 5. NU needs a PG in the grad transfer market.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

He doesn't look clumsy to me at all. He shows nice footwork and moves around the basket.

Exactly, I am amazed how much of what Young CAN’T do is a topic of conversation. IMO, he is either 1A or 1B for NU in the pleasant surprise category. I wasn’t expected much from him at all and was completely wrong. He was probably NU’s third best player this year.

He gets a bad rap because he has a bad case of white man’s disease. Not being a sky walker doesn’t make he clumsy. His moves around the basket are most developed on the team. I see him as a go to guy in the future when NU needs a basket to stop a run.

 

[No Chores]

The question will be can he stay with big men who run around picks and shoot 3s like Oturu did yesterday. When this year's crop graduates or leaves for the NBA, more guys like them will come in. It's possible his best future is as a leader of the second unit while maybe Nance or Jones play the 5.

Uh, no. Your basketball knowledge is somewhat lacking.

 

[clarificationcat]

Uh, no. Your basketball knowledge is somewhat lacking.

If we are going to be a really good team, I am not sure Young is our starter. I would rather see him as a rotation guy that gets more minutes depending on the matchups. I hope I am wrong and he gets a lot stronger and continues to refine his moves to compensate for the physical limitations he has. But right now, I think we are going to lose most center matchups because he is undersized and lacks explosiveness. He may have bad posture but when he and Nance stand next to each other, Nance looks to be at least 2 inches taller. It's tough giving up inches against many of the other centers in the conference when you are not an explosive athlete. If he were a couple of inches taller, I would be a lot more confident in his development.

 

[combes]

Kofi came out of nowhere. He was a physical terror.

Garza had developed his game over 3 seasons into a lottery pick.

That guy on Maryland sure can play too. Oturu, Wesson, Davis all look like they can play in the league.

How did Young fare against these guys?

Kofi was a top 50 recruit but played on a high school team that rarely threw him the ball. Lots of college guards on the team including 5 star Anthony who went to UNC.

He came to Illinois, got in better shape and learned some post moves. Bright future. I expect him to be more of a focus on offense next year with Ayo likely gone.

 

[EvanstonCat]

He had nice games at Maryland (17 pts on 8-11 FGs) and Illinois (12 pts on 4-5 with a three). Wesson actually didn't play that well against us. Garza, Jalen Smith, and Oturu obviously did. I don't think Young will ever be good enough to handle guys like that on his own, but the rotation of bigs may be able to as they mature.

I think Nicholson can though. And maybe Jones can bulk up and be our Oturu.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Nicholson seems like a redshirt candidate given how many bigs are on the roster, and I'm assuming we don't think Beran will ever play center.

If Nicholson is as good as advertised and as we need him to be, he isn’t going to redshirt.

 

[NUThump]

I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Young. Almost across the board, the ex-players doing color commentary on our games have gone out of their way to praise him. They don’t do that with all of our players. These guys know way more than me and see a lot of the little things that I don’t. I’m taking their comments as an indication his future is bright.

 

[GatoLouco]

Not only Young is NOT a weak link for us, but also will be, by the time he's done, one of the best bigs we ever had.

Stop the madness.

 

[Medill90]

If we are going to be a really good team, I am not sure Young is our starter. I would rather see him as a rotation guy that gets more minutes depending on the matchups. I hope I am wrong and he gets a lot stronger and continues to refine his moves to compensate for the physical limitations he has. But right now, I think we are going to lose most center matchups because he is undersized and lacks explosiveness. He may have bad posture but when he and Nance stand next to each other, Nance looks to be at least 2 inches taller. It's tough giving up inches against many of the other centers in the conference when you are not an explosive athlete. If he were a couple of inches taller, I would be a lot more confident in his development.

Young is going to get stronger, he'll refine his moves and he'll add confidence to his offense. It was impressive that he was able to work with his back to the basket and get off quality shots against some of the best big men in the country.
If I had a wish for him on offense it's that he'd shoot the close ins with a bit more confidence. (That was a nice clockwise spin and quick shot with his left Wed...didn't go in, but quality shot) I'm sure that will come and strength will help.

More impressive is that he came in as a first year and played quality D against....well, everyone. If the Big Ten has this level of post play the next three years and Ryan plays D about as well as he did this year, that's not a disaster. A reasonable expectation is that with strength training and coaching, and quality competition (Jones, Nicholson) he'll just get better and better on D. He'll be able to push his guy off his spot and he'll also benefit from the officials knowing his game.

People talk about his not being athletic and that confuses me. I think athleticism must now be defined as jumping out of the gym and strength. I always thought foot work, coordination and movement were parts of athleticism. For a frosh his game is pretty smooth. If he loses his guy, he's not going to jump above the rim and block him. But he's shown he can defend the most athletic bigs in the country and he can get his shot off against those same guys. That's as a frosh.

 

[willycat]

Not only Young is NOT a weak link for us, but also will be, by the time he's done, one of the best bigs we ever had.

Stop the madness.

Do these names ring a bell? Ruklick, Pitts, Esch, Pardon, Olah, Rankin, Morris???

 

[GatoLouco]

Do these names ring a bell? Ruklick, Pitts, Esch, Pardon, Olah, Rankin, Morris???

Show me their stats as freshmen

 

[NJCat]

Show me their stats as freshmen

Pitts (Sophomore, FY were ineligible) 9.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG
Ruklick (Soph)18 ppg, 12.5 rpg
Esch 9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Rankin 11.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg
Olah 6.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Pardon 6.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg

Young 9.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg

Shon Morris was a forward.

Clearly Ruklick and Pitts had better statistical first seasons, and willy is correct to remind us just how great they were at NU. But Ryan's first year stacks up with the rest, slightly behind Rankin. If he ends up as good as these other Centers NU will be OK at that position.

 

[GatoLouco]

Clearly Ruklick and Pitts had better statistical first seasons, and willy is correct to remind us just how great they were at NU. But Ryan's first year stacks up with the rest, slightly behind Rankin. If he ends up as good as these other Centers NU will be OK at that position.

Yep. And, from sports-refence.com here is the SOS, for each:
Ruklick - 5.19
Esch - 5.95
Rankin - 6.65
Olah - 8.30
Pardon - 4.12

Young - 10.51

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Pitts (Sophomore, FY were ineligible) 9.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG
Ruklick (Soph)18 ppg, 12.5 rpg
Esch 9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Rankin 11.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg
Olah 6.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Pardon 6.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg

Young 9.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg

Shon Morris was a forward.

Clearly Ruklick and Pitts had better statistical first seasons, and willy is correct to remind us just how great they were at NU. But Ryan's first year stacks up with the rest, slightly behind Rankin. If he ends up as good as these other Centers NU will be OK at that position.

You have to go back to the Stone Age to find Centers with clear statistical edge over Young. Let’s give the man his props.

 

[CappyNU]

I compared Young to the other 14 bigs who played significant time this year and compared all of their freshman stats:

Young
Minutes - 4th at 26mpg
Points/game - 8th at 9ppg
Reb/game - 8th at 6.1rpg
eFG% - 10th at 54.2%
2-pt FG% - 6th at 58.1%
FT% - 5th at 67%
OReb% - 13th at 8.6%
DReb% - 9th at 17.7%
Block% - 14th at 2.2%
Assist% - 2nd at 12.5%
Turnover% - 8th at 16.1%
Fouls committed/40 mins - 4th at 3.2
Fouls drawn/40 - 10th at 4.0

Based on this I'd say he's fairly middle of the pack, which given that this list contains multiple NBA prospects, speaks pretty highly of his performance this year. His +/- numbers were 2nd-best on the team, and the offense performed at its best when he was on the floor. Absolutely give the man his props.

 

[NJCat]

I compared Young to the other 14 bigs who played significant time this year and compared all of their freshman stats:

Young
Minutes - 4th at 26mpg
Points/game - 8th at 9ppg
Reb/game - 8th at 6.1rpg
eFG% - 10th at 54.2%
2-pt FG% - 6th at 58.1%
FT% - 5th at 67%
OReb% - 13th at 8.6%
DReb% - 9th at 17.7%
Block% - 14th at 2.2%
Assist% - 2nd at 12.5%
Turnover% - 8th at 16.1%
Fouls committed/40 mins - 4th at 3.2
Fouls drawn/40 - 10th at 4.0

Based on this I'd say he's fairly middle of the pack, which given that this list contains multiple NBA prospects, speaks pretty highly of his performance this year. His +/- numbers were 2nd-best on the team, and the offense performed at its best when he was on the floor. Absolutely give the man his props.

Props for one heck of a deep data-dive.

 

[ubercat]

Education?!?! The guy's carrying a 4.0 !

 

[Smolmania]

Cameron Krutwig fresman stats: 10.5 pts, 6.1 rebounds (on a team that played in the tournament). Same body type. RY can be a quality big in the B1G. . .