Basketball: Young surprised by fall, but ready to contribute

After the Madison Square Garden lights dimmed and basketball analysts poured over the results,… After the Madison Square Garden lights dimmed and basketball analysts poured over the results, this year’s NBA Draft left a lot of unanswered questions.

How did the Minnesota Timberwolves fall in love with two point guards? Is there any reason why the Milwaukee Bucks first-round pick Brandon Jennings showed up late to the arena? Why did Pitt’s Sam Young and DeJuan Blair fall to the second round?

Wait a second, Young and Blair both went in the second round?

Yes, it was a surprise for some fans to watch both of the former Pitt basketball studs fall to the second round, but they’re not alone.

According to ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, it was also a surprise to Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon.

Katz wrote in a story online that Dixon was “stunned” when he saw both Blair and Young still on the board after the first round.

He certainly wasn’t alone, as many Draft experts had Young ranked as a mid-to-late first-round selection.

But as stunning as it was, Young, drafted in the second round by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 36th overall pick, is looking at the upside of falling further than expected.

“I was expecting to go earlier, but I feel that this is a great fit for me,” Young said. “I am definitely going to make a home here in Memphis. I am looking forward to growing with this team.”

Why is it such a big deal? Well, in the NBA Draft, only first-round selections are guaranteed a contract — a two-year contract with club options for the third and fourth years, with the team that drafted them.

But second-round picks aren’t guaranteed anything.

Young has to earn his spot on the Grizzlies if he wants to cash an NBA paycheck next season. If he makes the team, he will probably make around the league minimum of $457,588.

Apparently, the question marks about Young’s age, defense and into which position he will fit in the NBA were enough to keep him from being drafted in the first round.

Because he went to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., for one year after graduating high school, Young is 24 years old. At 6 feet 6 inches tall, he is slightly shorter than the average NBA power forward, while he also lacks the ideal shooting skill of an NBA small forward or shooting guard, according to some scouts.

It still must have been puzzling for Young, an All-Big East first-team selection last year, to watch as teams drafted two second-team players, Syracuse guard Johnny Flynn at No. 6 overall and Villanova forward Dante Cunningham at No. 33 overall, ahead of him.

On top of that, Louisville’s Earl Clark, a third-team selection from last year, was chosen 14th overall.

Young dazzled scouts during workouts leading up to the NBA Draft and spoke as if he felt he would have been an earlier pick.

But now, Young’s focus is on working hard to prove teams they were wrong in passing on him.

“I definitely will come out with a chip on my shoulder,” Young said. “I feel like I was always the underdog and had to work for everything I got. I’m going to work my butt off, I always do.”

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said he is excited to see Young along with his other picks — former Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet (No. 2 overall) and former Missouri guard Demarre Carroll (No. 27) — on the court at the same time.

“With [Young and Carroll’s] athleticism and with Hasheem’s ability to block shots and rebound and alter shots, we’re going to be able to run more and not lose as much when we do change our lineup,” Hollins said. “We want to guard, but we want to score. You can’t win unless you outscore the other team.”

Young said he is confident he can fit in with his new team.

“I think I’m the type of player who can come in and give the Grizzlies some great minutes and be able to contribute right away and try and help them be a better team from last year,” Young said. “The team is all about developing and that we have a good chance of building a winning team in the near future. I am just happy to be a part of it.”