Anyone who has played much pickup basketball has come across this guy: he's slow, possibly pudgy, can't really jump, and is someone you pick because you need another body. Then he gets on the court and you realize no one can stop him. He's so wide or so smart about angles that no one can get close to his shot. He can't keep up on the break, but he somehow forces the game to play at his pace. Ryan Young was that guy — except he did it in the ACC.
Born on December 2, 1999, in Montreal, Quebec, Young grew up in Stewartsville, New Jersey, in a family built on college athletics. His mother Tammy played volleyball at Syracuse; his father Patrick rowed crew there. The sport they raised their son on was basketball, and by his senior year at Bethlehem Catholic High School in Pennsylvania, he was averaging 16.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game — leading the Becahi Golden Hawks to their first district title and state semifinal appearance in school history. He was named Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Player of the Year, USA TODAY first-team all-state, and The Morning Call Player of the Year. On the AAU circuit, he played with the Jersey Shore Warriors, capturing six tournament championships.
He wasn't a five-star recruit. He wasn't a top-100 prospect. He committed to Northwestern, where Chris Collins — a former Duke captain himself — was building something in Evanston. Young redshirted his first year, then started all 31 games as a redshirt freshman, averaging 9 points and 6.1 rebounds. He earned three Academic All-Big Ten honors and three Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards. He was exactly the kind of player who thrives in a system that values intelligence over athleticism — a center who knew where to be, when to seal, and how to finish with either hand around the rim.