There’s A lot to Like About Young

Daniel Young Jr. 2022 PG Shaker Heights

While scouting the TNBA East Winter League playoffs this past weekend, we stumbled upon Daniel Young Jr. (5’5/PG/2022/Shaker Heights) as his Shaker Heights winter team was competing for a championship.  We knew Young could play as evidenced by his placement on our top 2022 list and his top 25 ranking at our last Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase in September, but we were a bit surprised at just how good he actually is. 

Young is a bigger guard who uses his size, strength and athleticism to power his way to the bucket.  However, he’s more than just a slasher, as a solid skill set allows him to create his own shot, and his vision and passing skills make him a great playmaker as well. Young can really score the ball, and has in his tool box a jumper, floater and athleticism at the cup.  In addition, Young is poised under pressure, plays with great pace and is a true floor general.  Young also has a high IQ, he clearly understands the game, and he always seems to make the right play.

This winter, Young was a big time contributor for his Shaker Heights team, averaging 16 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals per game.  In the summer, Young runs with his father’s All-Ohio Northeast squad.  If genetics have anything to do with it, young’s future appears to be very bright, as his father was a high school basketball star at Buchtel, who went on the play college ball at Hiram College, where he was elected to the school’s Hall of Fame in 2013.  Young also excels in the classroom where he regularly receives As and Bs while taking enriched classes.  Moreover, Young is in the MAC Scholars Program for high achieving African Americans males, and his hobbies include playing the Baritone in his school’s band.

It should be noted that Young led his Shaker Heights team to a league championship on Sunday, after going head to head with Sunny Johnson Jr., one of the state’s top 3 players. We didn’t see the score sheet, but both Young and Johnson had to of score almost 20 points each.  From what we saw on Sunday, we need to think about Young in terms of top 10 his class.  Finally, Young’s talent places him in the conversation for our All-State honors, as well as an invitation to the prestigious Ohio North vs South All-Star Game in September.  If you didn’t know, now you know; Young is a talent!