James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.
Agreed, but being able to get to the hoop in college isn't guaranteed to translate to the NBA (look no farther than Marcus Smart for evidence of that).
What concerns me most about this kid (outside his broken jumpshot) is the complete lack of fire he shows. It's VERY James Young-ish. I think the Celtics made some great picks this year - Langford just wasn't one of them.
Complete lack of fire? The kid was a top 5-10 prospect and got significantly injured, such that it would ultimately require surgery that would sideline him for months. How many prospects of that type have we seen shut it down quickly, get the surgery, and start prepping for the draft? Plenty. And I don’t begrudge those that do, but Langford played injured the entire year, and probably cost himself 5-8 spots in the draft because of it, for a team that wasn’t very good. He could have pulled a Darius Garland, and entered the draft just looking good during one-on-zero workouts and his high school tape. But instead he showed that in fact he does love competing in basketball, sacrificing his own numbers and reputation, playing through injury.
That’s not to say he can’t work on staying more engaged in the game when he’s away from the play, but to say he’s lacking competitive fire? He clearly loves basketball in a way that I’m not sure James Young ever did.