James Young article

[Maurice98]

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.

Lovin it... But didnt he measure at 5.1% body fat at the draft combine? Don't call me a doctor but anything below that sounds a little dangerous. Hope he bundles up during Boston winters.

His body fat now is negative -2.5% 

[SCeltic34]

Follow up article by Forsberg:

One thing that's obvious from putting together this week's feature on Boston Celtics swingman James Young is that there's an awful lot of excitement within the organization about where the team believes he can get to. No one is exactly sure how quickly he'll get there, and the conversation invariably resolves to how he's still only 19, but the Celtics are doing all they can to position Young to contribute next season.

"I think the biggest thing is there are things that he can get better at over the course of time, then there are things that he can get just incrementally better at now to impact his playing time," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "So we've really been focused on those incremental things. Whether it is the speed of a cut, whether it is cutting through contact, whether it is catch-and-shoot, whether it is recognizing when you have the opportunity to lose a guy on a cut and then squaring yourself.

"Defensively, it's just increasing his strength. For certain guys, it’s about the weight room as much as anything else. It’s about increasing and physically maturing into your body, from a versatile standpoint. James had really good success this year when we put him on smaller guys. And you can go back all the way through our film and say, 'He didn't lose guys very often.' He used his length, he affected them. And where he can increase his opportunities is by increasing his defensive versatility and putting on that muscle so that he can guard [small forwards]. That’s a huge thing. It’s also something that’s going to take a little time; it’s not going to happen overnight. But he’s really making good strides. I'm excited about him."

As we noted in the original story, Young has gained 15 pounds since he arrived in Boston last summer, all while lowering his body fat, and you can see a bit of increased bulk in his arms and upper body. For versatility-craving Boston, Young's ability to guard multiple positions gives him an even greater chance to stay on the floor.

Young admitted last season that he needs to commit to the weight room in order to compete as a swingman at the NBA level. Stevens said that realization, as much as anything on the court, was a key learning experience in Young's rookie campaign.

"I think one of the things that you have to learn as you get further into this is the more experience you have as a player, the more deliberate you can be in your work," said Stevens. "The less experience you have, the more you're trying to figure out what you’re deliberate work is. ... [Young has] been around working hard. And we’re spending a lot of time shooting and a lot of time handling, and getting better in those areas. But just as important is that [weight] room right there."

Young said that one of the most challenging aspects was simply dedicating himself to the weight room and pushing himself to not simply go through the motions like he might have in the past.

"I didn’t really work out as much [before he arrived in Boston,]" said Young. "That’s one of the things that [team brass] were talking to me about, that my work ethic needed to go up. So from last year to the draft until now, my work ethic has been getting better."

One thing Young stressed was that he's leaving his rookie campaign in the rearview mirror. He's been working hard to improve his body and is eager to showcase his development with a fresh slate this season. One year ago, he wasn't healthy enough to get on the court at the start of his NBA journey, and he might never have given himself a chance to catch up.

"This year," he said, "I'm just letting everything go and I'm focused on just getting better."

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4719595/leftovers-young-and-the-weighting-game

Sounds like Young got the message loud and clear.  He's able to admit that he wasn't working hard enough.  And now he's doing something about it, not just talking about it.  I respect that. 

Obviously, he's still going to struggle during his sophomore year on the defensive end.  But I think we're going to see great strides as the year progresses.  I'm hoping eventually he can improve to the point where he can switch on to smaller (or bigger) players in pick and rolls and do a respectable job.  This itself will earn him playing time.
 
I'm not worried about his offense right now, particularly his shooting.  That's going to come.

Lots of things to look forward to this season.

[rollie mass]

i used to post that prince could have mentored james on running a route,being in waltham is the best thing for young seeing all the draft prospects doing drills, reading all the hype and knowing that they want his position,i mean really want
,i hope turner is working as hard as james is-he looks like he could use drills and weights,practice like kobe
sully has a camp this week maybe we will get to see the new improved sully-
young with drills and weights can really improve his agility and lateral speed,three inches on his vertical and weights will help with explosiveness-ainge said night and day-who knows what will come as he stated he never bothered with the weight room by the time the season starts james will be a different animal

[positivitize]

I hope these 2 articles aren't meant to increase Young's trade value so he'll be useful in a trade on draft night.

I can't remember the last time there were two articles within a week about one player's progress during the off-season.

[walker834]

I hope these 2 articles aren't meant to increase Young's trade value so he'll be useful in a trade on draft night.

I can't remember the last time there were two articles within a week about one player's progress during the off-season.

Nah. He really is that talented.

[Future Celtics Owner]

Hopefully all this is the truth. Adding 15 lbs , 3 inches to your vertical, and losing bf is a great foundation to start this summer. I fully expect him to rip apart the summer league and show everyone whats up. Whats awesome is that after summer league he has a few more months to work on his body, defense, game, and overall basketball iq.

I do tend to believe the progress he has made with his body because James was only 18 and never lifted in a serious program before. He's right at that age (turns 20 right before the season) where gaining muscle for your personal threshold is possible.

[Future Celtics Owner]

I hope these 2 articles aren't meant to increase Young's trade value so he'll be useful in a trade on draft night.

I can't remember the last time there were two articles within a week about one player's progress during the off-season.

Nah. He really is that talented.

Have you seen him play in the d league? the James Young highlights for every game are on youtube.

[SCeltic34]

I hope these 2 articles aren't meant to increase Young's trade value so he'll be useful in a trade on draft night.

I can't remember the last time there were two articles within a week about one player's progress during the off-season.

I was thinking the same thing, but I actually buy that both Stevens and Ainge are really, really high on Young.  He's not going to be tossed in simply as a sweetener to a deal.

[positivitize]

I hope these 2 articles aren't meant to increase Young's trade value so he'll be useful in a trade on draft night.

I can't remember the last time there were two articles within a week about one player's progress during the off-season.

I was thinking the same thing, but I actually buy that both Stevens and Ainge are really, really high on Young.  He's not going to be tossed in simply as a sweetener to a deal.

I hope you're right.

[KG Living Legend]

 " and losing bf is a great foundation to start this summer"

 Oh wow. That's really sad. I didn't know he lost his boyfriend. #humor

[KG Living Legend]

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.

Lovin it... But didnt he measure at 5.1% body fat at the draft combine? Don't call me a doctor but anything below that sounds a little dangerous. Hope he bundles up during Boston winters.

His body fat now is negative -2.5% 

 Haha that's great. His bodyfat is lowering as we type, I heard he's looking to be 250 pounds with negative 22% bodyfat. What an Animal!

[Chief Macho]

To me this is like having a lottery pick this year.

[footey]

I hope these 2 articles aren't meant to increase Young's trade value so he'll be useful in a trade on draft night.

I can't remember the last time there were two articles within a week about one player's progress during the off-season.

I was thinking the same thing, but I actually buy that both Stevens and Ainge are really, really high on Young.  He's not going to be tossed in simply as a sweetener to a deal.

The cynic in me says they are pumping him up as trade fodder before the draft. Hope I am wrong.

[CelticsFan166]

I want see how he plays in an nba game rather than working out
as that's the easier part of his development (getting stronger, fitter to acclimate to the nba level)

I want to see whether he's defence and shot creation has improved as despite his physical tools he did not look like a good defender in college

But if he can get to Jordan/Kobe level, this kid will be special.

Wait, really? 

[LilRip]

I want see how he plays in an nba game rather than working out
as that's the easier part of his development (getting stronger, fitter to acclimate to the nba level)

I want to see whether he's defence and shot creation has improved as despite his physical tools he did not look like a good defender in college

But if he can get to Jordan/Kobe level, this kid will be special.

Wait, really? 

Yes, but only maybe special