The moment I realised there could be problems with James Young

[slightly biased bias fan]

I didn't know he had his own logo until a few days after the 2014 draft but seeing that really had me worried about his state of mind. What kid has their own corporate logo before they have achieved anything? I think someone who believes they have already made it and it's now showing as he hasn't had any growth in 3 seasons of summer league, yet Booker who is a similar type of player who came from the same role at Kentucky has grown exponentially in just over a year and dominated summer league and has already added a fantastic passing game to his resume (Booker will be 20 in October).

[Beat LA]

Funnily enough, a Kentucky fan or two had this same feeling about Young and his 'brand', although, to be fair to James, corporations are people, now, too . Ugh. Brb, finding comment(s).  I believe that I found it by searching for 'James Young work ethic', lol .

[Ogaju]

was when I observed his demeanor on the bench and in timeout huddles. He seems so uninterested.

[slightly biased bias fan]

Funnily enough, a Kentucky fan or two had this same feeling about Young and his 'brand', although, to be fair to James, corporations are people, now, too . Ugh. Brb, finding comment(s).  I believe that I found it by searching for 'James Young work ethic', lol .

Yeah 100% I am astonished that a kid who wasn't even a top high school recruit would get his own corporate logo, I mean Lebron was the most hyped marketed basketballer in the history of the sport even before his last year of High School...and even he didn't have his own logo until many years into his NBA career.

[jambr380]

I am always skeptical of guys that make their name during tourney play only. I tried to get myself behind the selection, but never really saw what was so great about him. I don't think we will necessarily live to regret not taking Hood (mostly because he doesn't scream 'star'), but I was pretty psyched when he was there at 17.

And, yeah, the logo is super-lame...but at least he awesome at wide open threes.

[slightly biased bias fan]

was when I observed his demeanor on the bench and in timeout huddles. He seems so uninterested.

Yes very true, almost like a pouting child.

[Beat LA]

was when I observed his demeanor on the bench and in timeout huddles. He seems so uninterested.

Yes very true, almost like a pouting child.

Really?  Admittedly, it's not something I focus on during games, lol, but every time I see him he's just laughing and joking around with guys like he's just happy to be there . Sigh.

[CelticsFan166]

Honestly the moment I realized was when we drafted him and he admitted he knew nothing about the history of the team. Come on dude, at least say you do.

[Ogaju]

was when I observed his demeanor on the bench and in timeout huddles. He seems so uninterested.

Yes very true, almost like a pouting child.

more like the unfocused restless child.

[Beat LA]

Found it, and it references CelticsBlog, lol .

CelticsBlog.com says bench James Young
By Drew Franklin

CelticsBlog.com believes Brad Stevens needs to cut back on James Young’s minutes if Stevens has any intention of making the playoffs. With reasons like “Young is getting hosed defensively” and “Young sticks out like a sore thumb on film,” and numbers to back it all up, writer Kevin O’Connor makes a very strong case for sending the former Cat to the bench. Or back to Maine.

It’s not all because of Young’s defensive struggles, either; he is having problems with what he normally does well, too:

Young has the potential to be a knockdown three-point shooter, but the product of Kentucky has hit just 11 of his 48 three-point attempts this season, and is just 15.4 percent from downtown in the last six games. Young is not producing in the area he supposedly excels the most, and he isn’t making up for it elsewhere.

Boston is still in contention for a playoff spot in the East so, like O’Connor writes, now is not the time to be experimenting with an underachieving rookie. We love James and want the best for him, but it’s just not his time. Not yet.

For lots more on Young’s rookie season in Boston, including stats and film, check out the entire piece here.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/nba-cats/celticsblog-com-says-bench-james-young/

The comments, though, are obviously the best part, and quite telling, unfortunately -

Kevin C March 2, 2015 at 8:56 pm | Permalink
I never liked James Young. He was too much into his “brand”, even before he set foot on campus, and never seemed like a team player….which had a lot to do with our struggles last season. His game seemed to flucuate as much as his hairdo, and he and his “family” were wearing the JY-1 apparel before we even commited to UK….and continued to do so, even at UK games, rather than wear UK gear. I was glad he left after his first year, and I hope Cal never signs another kid like him.

Reese Davis March 2, 2015 at 9:07 pm | Permalink
We wouldn’t have made it to the championship without him, so I am very glad we had him. He would keep us in games early with his three-point shooting. He saved us with some clutch threes including the Witchita State Game. And who cares about what his family wears.

That being said, James had some glaring weaknesses that really p---ed me off while we we were on that losing streak. His defense was the worst on our team, he is extremely streaky (besides the tournament when he put 6 or 7 games in a row together), he lazy and often doesn’t run back on defense. In college his talent could cover these major flaws up most of the time, so i can see why he’s not ready for the NBA yet. The Celtics may have wasted a draft pick going with James

Kevin C March 2, 2015 at 9:52 pm | Permalink
You missed my point. I don’t care what his “family” wore….I care WHY they wore it. Young was their meal ticket…not their beloved family member. Again, the kid was marketing himself, even while in H.S. That’s not indicative of a “team player”…and the proof was in his play, caring more about his weekly hairdo, than working on his jump shot and FTs (both were severely lacking). If he’d come back this year, he would have either been a problem, and likely would have already transferred. There’s no way he would have “bought in” to what this year’s team has done thus far.

UKBlue1 March 2, 2015 at 8:57 pm | Permalink
I’m sorry, but Young was always overrated & from his play especially on defense & passing extremely lazy. He will not be in the league very long if he doesn’t change his attitude.

mashburnfan1 March 2, 2015 at 9:02 pm | Permalink
All we ever heard is what a great shooter he is, I would rather have a great maker. He only shot about 40 % from the field at UK and just 70 % at ft line which anyone who plays major college ball SHOULD be able to make. He was 34% at 3 pointers. Celtics must not have watched tape as he played very little defense here as well. I wish him the best as he is a CAT but too often people call players great shooters or scorers based only on points and not looking into how many shots it took to get those points. Lebron had 35 points the other night, great game right? Well he took 46 total shots to get them and missed 28 of those shots. Almost anyone in the league could have scored 35 points taking that many shots.

mashburnfan1 March 2, 2015 at 9:33 pm | Permalink
Hard to say Reese. Who would we have had if he was not here? I don’t know who may have come here if he had not been signed, maybe Wiggins who would have gave effort under Cal. Any player at this level will have their big game or big play but his effort was not worth what little else he gave us all year. Weak defender, weak passer, weak dribbler and below average shooter.

UKALLDAY1 March 2, 2015 at 9:26 pm | Permalink
James Young and to a certain extent Julius Randle were selfish and the main reason for the 11 loses last year. Replace Randle with Towns and T. Lyles (both are much better than Randle FYI) Young with Book and Ulis (Both are also much better than Young) and wala like magic they ROLL through competition like we thought they would last year. Young was the king of not hustling or contesting shots like ever. His passing was atrocious! And his defense was even worse than his passing. I remember coach Cal had the nerve to put him on Russ Smith in the tourney. Of course Russ went crazy then they had to put Alex on Russ. He’s one of the worst defenders I’ve seen at any level. Randle was the master at taking on quadruple teams. OMG! That man was not gonna bass the ball even if his life depended on it. I never seen anything like it! It caused OBVIOUS chemistry issues.

Tomasito March 2, 2015 at 9:48 pm | Permalink
The problem with James Young was always going to be his work ethic. He isn’t anymore selfish than any other kid we have had at UK. He doesn’t work as hard. He is a taller version of Doron Lamb. To be in the NBA you have to do something at an elite level. James should be an elite shooter, but he doesn’t work hard enough and either did Doron.

On a side note it really p---es me off when people make character judgments because of how someone plays on the basketball court. He was a good kid who did everything right, he just doesn’t have the work ethic to be one of the best in the world. Doesn’t mean he is a bad person or “selfish”.

bigbluecoop March 2, 2015 at 10:48 pm | Permalink
1) Young was never the shooter we all expected. I will give him credit for hitting some big shots during the NCAA run. But he was never consistent.

2) He couldn’t dribble with his right hand. You play basketball 12-13 years, how is this possible?

3) Poor defense. How many times did he leave his guy wide open in the corner? Made me cuss.

I wish him luck, but unless he becomes a knock down shooter and lock down defender, I don’t see a very long NBA career.

J-Dub421 March 3, 2015 at 12:35 am | Permalink
James Young is a good shooter. The problem is that he takes bad shots a lot of the time. When he’s set and takes a good shot where he’s open (or at least semi-open), he hits it. He just tries to force up bad, heavily contested shots more than he should.

He is a terrible passer, and not a good defender. His poor defense is especially frustrating because he should be a lock-down defender with all of his talent and athleticism.

I was going to highlight the important parts of each post, but by and large, it proved unnecessary.  These comments are GOLD, lol . Ugh.

[Beat LA]

Honestly the moment I realized was when we drafted him and he admitted he knew nothing about the history of the team. Come on dude, at least say you do.

Lol, TP .

[Chief Macho]

probably got a nice bank account.

[Chef Parish]

When the Red Claws' mascot was making more 3 pointers from half-court during timeouts and halftime then he was making during the game.

[Beat LA]

Sorry to make another post, but if you want a laugh, just type in 'James Young defense' on YouTube.  Actually, just typing 'James Young defense' is enough to make one at least chuckle, imo.  Here's what I've found going back to his college days -

James Young defense

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSlvTIYy20

James Young in between game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4t5NlrA9kk

James Young Closeout Defense Boston Celtics (which, ironically, is immediately followed by a video entitled 'Boston Celtics defense - Passion and desire! vs Atlanta Hawks Game 6 2012 Playoffs, lol)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8AUZadrvJk

James Young Man-To-Man Defense Boston Celtics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZj7w6zOmKw

James Young Screen Defense Boston Celtics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WcgNZQAl2A

Yeah... .

[Beat LA]

When the Red Claws' mascot was making more 3 pointers from half-court during timeouts and halftime then he was making during the game.

Lol, TP . I never watched any of his d-league games, which was probably for the best .