James Young has yet to carve out a role for himself in the NBA. He was an impressive player at Kentucky, knocking down shots from the perimeter and throwing down explosive dunks. The Boston Celtics liked what they saw, and selected him with the 17th overall pick in the NBA draft.
Young did not have the impact that many expected him to in his rookie season, hardly getting any minutes in a very young Celtics rotation. Many questioned Young’s ethic, and he spent much of the season traveling back and forth from Boston and its D-League affiliate in Maine. However, Young hears his doubters, and is working as hard as he can to silence them.
Here’s what most haven’t seen: If the Celtics maintained a leaderboard for offseason hours in the gym, Young would be near the top. A familiar presence since the end of the season, he often engages in two-a-day sessions at the team’s training facility. The results? He’s carrying 15 pounds of additional muscle, has trimmed his body fat and has added three inches to his vertical over the past year, the fruits of a newfound dedication to the weight room.
Young admits his work ethic might not have been at the level it needed to be when he arrived in the NBA. The weight room wasn’t a top priority for a player who previously got by on pure skill and athleticism. But what a sobering rookie experience taught him was that he needed to get stronger to defend multiple positions, that he had to find new ways to generate his own offense, and that he had to work harder than he ever had to simply get on the floor.
It’s good to see Young working hard, and he has a very promising future ahead of him. Young’s shooting percentages were pretty awful when he was on the court for Boston last season, but it’s too small a sample size to really glean anything from that. Hard work pays off, and if Young keeps it up he could contribute for the Celtics as soon as next season.
