Monday, August 10, 1998
Young prepares to lead UCLA to top
RECRUIT: Having long planned to become a Bruin, phenom guard
looks to make impact
By James Tamkin
Daily Bruin Staff
Slam magazine fans already have the scoop on Ray Young, the
6-foot-5 guard who joins the Bruins this fall. Young’s monthly
column for the basketball magazine offered the inside news on his
outstanding team, the Pilots, and other pertinent basketball
news.
Young joins incoming freshmen Matt Barnes, JaRon Rush, Dan
Gadzuric and Jerome Moiso to form the No. 1 recruiting class in the
country.
This journalist-athlete, rated by some recruiting experts as the
nation’s number top shooting guard, brings stellar talent to the
Bruins. Young was named California Junior of the Year, averaging
17.8 points and 7 rebounds per game.
He led St. Joseph Notre Dame in Alameda, California, to an 81-12
record while scoring 1,393 points. His preseason prep honors
include Dick Vitale’s No. 1 Backcourt Player in America. Young
called himself "a slasher who likes to work hard, run, jump and
perform showtime."
Young enjoyed playing baseball as well as basketball during his
childhood in Alameda, but he didn’t always have the strength and
size that help make him a success on the court now.
An excellent jumper and outside shooter, Young credited many of
his achievements to his late coach, Frank La Porte.
"He was the greatest person and would do anything in the world
for me," said Young. "He was a hard coach to please, but that was
good discipline for me. Although he died before the season, it
still gave us a boost to win."
Young looks forward to playing for coach Steve Lavin.
"He’s a young coach, so he’s really energetic and enthusiastic,"
he said.
Following a lifelong dream to play for UCLA, Young hopes to
bring "energy and a spark to make sure we all play hard."
Although heavily recruited by California, Stanford and Arizona,
Young chose UCLA.
"He brings explosiveness and athleticism to our basketball
program," said Lavin. "His most impressive qualities are his desire
to compete and his love of the game. Ray will have a tremendous
impact on our program and will be a perfect fit with our returning
players."
Young has already tested his skills with many of the recruits
and current Bruin players.
"I played on the same team as sophomore Baron Davis at the
Boston Shootout and against sophomore Earl Watson at the
Washington, D.C. Pro Am League, and with incoming freshman Dan
Gadzuric at the McDonald’s All-American game," said Young.
Young noted that the difference between high school and college
will be that "everyone in college basketball is good. There were
large gaps in high school. In college you must rely on the
fundamentals, not just athletic skill."
Young plans to study business administration, sociology or
psychology. He likes the campus atmosphere at UCLA and the easy
driving distance from home. During the summer, Young has been
working out, playing basketball, listening to music and reading the
latest Dennis Rodman book.
Like another one of his favorite books, "The Fab Five" by Mitch
Albom, Young looks forward to bringing his supersize intensity to
the newest Fab Five in Bruin basketball history.Photo courtesy of
James Tampkin
Ray Young is one of this year’s freshman basketball recruits.
UCLA has once again managed to snare one of the best recruiting
classes in the nation.