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Overview

Young has had great success as a swingman for the Trojans, blending his tremendous athletic and scoring ability with solid defense. The two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game as a junior. In just three seasons at USC, he scored 1,486 points, ranking sixth on the school's all-time record list. In his last two seasons, Young scored at least 10 points in 63 of 67 contests.

At Cleveland High School, Young averaged 27.2 points and 10.8 rebounds as a 2004 senior, earning All-CIF L.A. City Section, Los Angeles Times All-City and San Fernando Valley first-team honors. He shot 57.3 percent from the field and 46.8 percent from 3-point range (52 of 111), had 48 steals and 41 blocks as Cleveland finished 25-4.

Young was tabbed the seventh-best player in the country by HoopScoop and listed in prep basketball guru Frank Burlison's Top 50 recruits in 2004. He once scored 56 points in one game and had 23 rebounds in another. Earned All-CIF L.A. City Section first team honors in 2003 and was included in a list of Top Seniors by Athlon heading into 2004.

The Trojans' program received a major boost in 2004-05 with the arrival of Young and Gabe Pruitt. The duo shared team MVP honors, putting together two of the best freshman seasons in USC Schoolhistory. Young averaged 11.1 points in 29 games (23 starts), the third-highest average on the team. He also ranked third in minutes (746), third in 3-pointers made (28), second in free throws made (47), fourth in rebounds (118), tied for fourth in assists (38) and fifth in steals (22) while shooting 44.1 percent from the field (123 of 279).

Young had a sensational sophomore season, leading the team in scoring (17.3) and rebounds per game (6.6), while earning team MVP, All-Pacific-10 Conference and NABC Distict XV first-team accolades. He ranked fourth in scoring and sixth in rebounding among Pac-10 players, joining Cal's Leon Powe and Stanford's Matt Haryasz as the only players in the conference to rank in the top 10 in both categories. He scored in double figures in 29 of USC's 30 games, including the first 17 games.

That season, Young made 46.7 percent (191 for 409) of his field-goal attempts and 80.1 percent (113 for 141) of his free-throw attempts. He was one of two Trojans (Ryan Francis the other) to start all 30 games for USC. His 518 points scored were the second most ever by a USC sophomore, trailing only Harold Miner, who scored 681 in 1991. His 113 free throws made also were the second most ever by a USC sophomore to Miner's 152 (1991).

As a junior, Young was again named to the All-Pac-10 and NABC District XV first-team squads, adding All-District IX honors from the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association. He finished the regular season second among Pac-10 players in scoring (17.5), fifth in field-goal percentage (.535), fourth in 3-point percentage (.438) and fourth in total minutes played (1,025). He blocked a career-high 10 shots and hauled in 171 rebounds while starting every game except the Wichita State game.

In December, Young scored his 1,000th career point vs. Longwood, becoming the 31st player in school history to reach that scoring plateau. He led USC with 22 points and grabbed six rebounds in a win vs. Bethune-Cookman, following with 17 points vs. Charleston Southern. He matched a career-high (sixth time) with three steals vs. Kansas State and scored 26 points on 12 for 15 shooting to help lead USC to a 60-56 win vs. Wichita State, coming off the bench. He closed out the month with 25 points (23 after the first half) in the win vs. Washington on Dec. 28.

Young continued to torch opponents in January with 32 points vs. Washington State and scored 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including hitting the tie-breaking shot with 21 seconds left in a win at Oregon. He added 14 points, including a four-point play with 22 seconds left to give USC the lead over UCLA in an eventual 65-64 loss and poured in 30 points to lead USC to victory vs. Arizona, his third career 30-point game.

In February, Young scored a career-high 33 points vs. Oregon State and collected 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds at Arizona. He had 22 points and five rebounds vs. Stanford and then scored 26 points on 11 of 15 shooting on March 1st at Washington.

Young added eight straight points down the stretch at WSU on March 3 and finished with 19 points before fouling out in regulation. He followed by hitting the game-tying shot to send it to overtime in eventual win vs. Stanford and in his in his first career NCAA Tournament game on March 16 vs. Arkansas, he scored 20 points, had seven rebounds and a block. He closed out his career with 22 points and seven rebounds vs. Texas in NCAA Tournament second-round action.

In 96 games at Southern California, Young started 89 times and scored 1,486 points, the sixth-best total in Schoolhistory, topped only by 2,048 points by Harold Miner (87 games, 1990-92), 1,727 by Ronnie Coleman (116, 1988-91), 1,657 by Sam Clancy (113, 1999-2002), 1,606 by Desmon Farmer (121, 2001-04) and 1,524 by Wayne Carlander (116, 1982-85). His scoring average of 15.5 points per game ranks 11th in school history.

Young hit 48.4 percent of his field goals (553 of 1143), including 95 of 258 3-pointers (36.8 percent) while making 285 of 373 field goals (76.4 percent). In 31.1 minutes of action per game, he averaged 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He had 167 of his 487 rebounds off the offensive boards and collected 137 assists with 80 steals and 26 blocked shots. He was called for 243 Personal fouls and turned the ball over 147 times.

On April 17, Young declared for the 2007 NBA Draft, but can return to the Trojans if he doesn't sign with an agent.

"Nick has played well enough to receive consideration from the NBA," said USC head coach Tim Floyd. "He has our support and we wish him the best. He will have a home here if things do not work out the way he would like with the NBA."

Scouting Report

Positives: Versatile swingman with long limbs and a lean, angular frame...Might be a better fit at shooting guard than small forward, as he has excellent quickness on the fast break, but lacks the bulk to consistently battle in the paint...Has one of the best mid-range shots in the collegiate ranks...Scoring machine who can connect from anywhere on the court or beyond the arc...His quickness and versatility allowed the staff to play him at power forward in the up-tempo offense...Best when playing on the wing, as he takes good angles slashing to the basket...Efficient rebounder with a smooth jump shot from long range, doing a nice job of getting to the rim...Good ball handler, but just a marginal passer...Does a very good job off the dribble delivering pull-up jumpers, using hesitation moves and a nice spin while he demonstrates solid footwork and above-average elevation...Has a quick release when firing from beyond the arc or along the perimeter...Uses his elbows well to maintain position under the basket and has that explosive initial step, especially when executing his patented one-handed jam over lethargic centers...Despite lacking bulk, he knows how to use his body to slip and slide around his opponent and then uses his long arms to secure the rebound...Moves well without the ball in his hands and does a good job of generating screens and is creative enough with the ball in his hands to keep the defenses honest...Good 3-point shooter with a nice fade-away shot...Wiry type who can spin and elevate to get over smaller defenders for the dunk...His long-range shooting skills force the defense to come out of the paint to guard him...Even though he lacks bulk, he generates a strong drive to the basket, showing a quick, smooth release...Has very good court vision and a keen understanding of the game...Uses his long arms well to creates steals for himself when in the passing lane...Attacks the basket with good determination to get to putbacks...Has good body control running up and down the court, but his body is more suited for the two-guard rather than forward position and was moved away from the basket to power forward to increase scoring opportunities...Shows the quick-step moves to finish around the basket...Generates a good spin on the ball and gets a good arc shooting free throws...Will sacrifice his body and controls the ball while flying through the air to draw fouls...His big hands and wingspan lets him get to difficult passes outside his normal range...His ability to gain position and his anticipation skills allow him to beat the bigger men for the offensive rebounds...His strong drive and aggressiveness will generally see him finish at the rim when slashing through the crowd...Has the ability to take over games with his scoring touch...Tries to control the game at both ends of the court, a rarity for a shooting guard, as he anticipates passes well and forces steals with strong ball pressure...Excels on pick-and-rolls, making him a better fit as a post-up wing man...Can score coming off the screen and creates well off the dribble thanks to an explosive first step.

Negatives: Just an adequate passer who fails to create shots for others...Will tire late in games, especially when the opponent keeps running out fresh bodies vs. him, and is a streaky scorer)...Still a work in progress in the half-court game...Even with his range, he is more active near the basket, as he tends to get a little passive in his play on the perimeter at times, preferring to hoist up the long-range floaters rather than attacking the basket...Good defender, but goes through streaks where he loses focus and will take a side rather than get in front of the shooter (opponent can then slash past him)...Needs to play with more intensity and appears lethargic when he doesn't have the ball in his hands...Shows good form shooting free throws, but his success was down in that area in 2006-07, as he seemed to be rushing his attempts...Needs to add more bulk, as he will get ping-ponged by more physical forwards in the paint...Compensates by slipping under his man in attempts to get to the rebound...Despite a good long-range shot, he won't be a deadly 3-point shooter at the next level (88 percent of his 3-pointers came right at the 19'9" region and the NBA 3-point line is at 23'9")...Needs to attack the ball with better urgency and challenge his opponent more often...Is a good coverage defender, but goes through streaks where he lets his man take any shot...Needs to get stronger, as he can be bounced out by an efficient elbow when driving to the basket off the dribble.

Compares To: JAMAL CRAWFORD, New York. Young played out of position at power forward last year, giving up considerable bulk. He lacks the strength to play small forward at the next level, but with his mid-range jumper and shooting stroke, he could be a valuable performer. There is no one area of his game that stands out, but for teams looking for a versatile role player with a keen scoring eye, Young could be a nice addition to an established attack.

High School

Attended Cleveland (Los Angeles) High School, where he was rated the seventh-best player in the country by HoopScoop and listed by prep basketball guru Frank Burlison as among the Top 50 recruits in 2004...Earned All-CIF L.A. City Section, Los Angeles Times All-City and San Fernando Valley first team honors as a senior, as he averaged 27.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game...Shot 57.3 percent from the field and 46.8 percent from 3-point range (52 of 111), had 48 steals and 41 blocks as Cleveland finished 25-4...Once scored 56 points in one game and had 23 rebounds in another...Earned All-CIF L.A. City Section first team honors in 2003 and was included in a list of Top Seniors by Athlon heading into 2004.

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