One of the lesser-known stars of the SEC last season was the Arkansas Razorbacks shooting guard, B.J. Young.
He wasn’t chosen in the 2013 NBA Draft, because he didn’t have quite the resume of most of the other SGs in the draft. Yes, he led his offense and contributed to Arkansas’s unexpected decent SEC record, but the Razorbacks weren’t that special of a team.
The Arkansas star was also very sporadic with his shooting ability. There would be games where he looked like he couldn’t miss, but then he would have a game where he couldn’t hit anything at all. NBA teams want consistency from a shooter.
Young actually played like a less talented Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He needed another year in college to get his game up to the level necessary for the NBA, but chose to declare early.
Was that slim chance of fame and fortune really worth crushing the Razorbacks’ hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament in 2014?
Arkansas has an outstanding incoming recruiting class, but they will take a year to adjust to the much stronger competition in the SEC this season. If Young had stayed another year, he would have been able to lead the young Razorbacks to at least an NIT bid and cemented his place as a 2014 NBA Draft pick.
Instead, he opted for the 2013 draft and will play for the Houston Rockets summer league team. Fortunately, Young is young, and he will have extra years to learn under coaches and players familiar with the NBA.
Hopefully, Young will be able to play in the NBA after a few years in the D-league and have some sort of success at the next level.
Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS or add him to your network on Google.
