Duke lands transfer commitment from talented Big Ten center

Jon Scheyer just landed a big transfer commitment, with former Northwestern center Ryan Young committing to the Duke Blue Devils for next season.

Young spent the previous three years at Northwestern, playing a key role on the Wildcats team. He started all 31 games as a freshman in the 2019-2020 season, averaging nine points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He started just five games over the past two seasons, but remained in a pivotal role off of the bench. In his three-year collegiate career, Young is averaging 8.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. He is shooting 55.2% overall and 68.9% from the free throw line.

Young entered the transfer portal on March 24, and he compiled an impressive list of schools to visit since hitting the portal. He had planned visits to Duke, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Georgetown, with the possibility of Notre Dame and Miami visits, as well.

Young was a three-star recruit from the Class of 2018 and the No. 4 recruit from the state of Pennsylvania that year, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Young should fill an important role on Duke’s team next season

This past season was an impressive one for Duke, as the Blue Devils went 32-7 overall and 16-4 against ACC opponents. Duke lost in the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.

Following the tournament, Duke lost two key big men in forward Paolo Banchero and center Mark Williams. Young’s addition is an attempt to fill those holes, at least partly.

Banchero averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game as an all-around star for Duke last season. He is a projected top five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Williams was the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.