Korleone Young - The Case For College - Needed College More Than College Needed Him

Many readers of this blog and my extended tweets (before I created this blog) have expressed to me how much they enjoy reading my past scouting reports. I normally publish scouting reports on high profile players who made it big in the NBA. I've yet to publish a scouting report on a bust, or someone whom I evaluated poorly.  This blog is about a draft bust, Korleone Young, who is exhibit A in why the NBA decided to mandate players be 19 years of age and 1 year removed from high school before becoming eligible for the NBA draft.  After seeing Korleone for the first time I wrote this classic line; "Korleone needs college more than college needs him."

I decided to write about Korleone because Matthew Maurer of The Draft Review was commenting about how two-faced the NCAA is in dealing with programs and coaches such as Duke and Coach K versus John Calipari and Kentucky. To support his thesis, he cited Myron Piggie and Duke's Corey Maggette as an A-1 example of the NCAA's duplicitous nature. Based on this tweet, I guess he was wondering if I had ever heard of Myron. Please, I'm a basketball cognoscenti. Of course I know about Piggie and I dropped the name Korleone Young on Maurer. Korleone also happens to be the cousin of Myron Piggie.


Mauer asked me two questions about Korleone; "Was Korleone a NBA type talent or more man among boys in HS?" My reply: "He was a man among boys, but skill level needed to be enhanced. Became a boy among men. Didn't listen to me." Notice, I said he didn't listen to me. I saw Korleone play vs. Louisburg Junior College on 1/31/98. I had a good relationship with Korleone's agent/adviser.  Immediately after seeing Korleone play for the first time, I called his adviser and told him to make sure Korleone attended college.

The other question Mauer asked me "was he just a guy like Othella Harrington who just didn't seem to progress. Almost like his potential had peaked early?" My reply: "No, he was more athletic and explosive than Harrington. I'll try to find my scathing scouting report on him and post it for you." I might also add that he was considerably less skilled than Othella. That's the story and the reason why I've posted this scouting report. Hope you enjoy it. Korleone declared for the 1998 draft and was picked 40th in the NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He appeared in 3 games for the Pistons and never played another minute in the league.

McDonald's High School Dunk Contest - Features Korleone, Maggette, Rush, Curry, Jefferson

 

SCOUTING REPORT - KORLEONE YOUNG - 1/31/98 - HARGRAVE MILITARY ACADEMY

  
Great body - power small forward build. Physically developed - recently turned 19. Physical tools but lacks the fundamental basketball skills and work ethic to survive at the next level coming out of high school. Lacks a refined game - needs college more than college needs him. Went to Hargrave to develop more discipline and a better work ethic. I'm assuming he was looking to develop these two qualities both on and off the floor. He's failing miserably at having a better work ethic on the floor. He and school don't get along - will probably not predict and is looking seriously at making the jump to the next level. To say that I was less than impressed with his performance is an understatement. Needs college in the worst way - a taskmaster who will teach and push him to be the best possible player he can be. I don't think he has been well coached in his career and the tradition continues at Hargrave. Plays like he has already made it. Has a superstar mentality - directing and telling everyone what to do. Poor work ethic - consistently trailing the play - both on offense and defense. Does not hustle or run the floor the way that he is capable of doing.

Strong upper body. Long arms. Big hands. Great base and good hip structure. Great jumping ability -probably his number one asset - Very quick jumper and extremely explosive - plays way above the rim. Great two footed jumping ability. Should evaluate as a small forward due to size but his skill level is more suited to the power forward spot. Needs a couple more inches to play the power forward spot, but he could be effective in time with his build and athleticism. However, he lacks a 4' s work ethic and grit. Not fundamentally sound. Lazy habits and tendencies in terms of working for rebound position, footwork, and in getting back on defense. Takes shortcuts.

Primarily looking to generate offense for himself - not making those around him better. Not playing entirely within the team format but I can't say that he is taking bad shots. One effort player at this stage of his development. Coasted too much this game - they should have beat this team by 30 points and it ended up being a 3 point game. His level of play(intensity) remained about the same whether they were up by 17, or down by 1. What did change is where he took shots from - First half he was taking jumpers and shots from 3 point range. Second half he mainly took shots close to the basket after catching with his back to the basket and simply spinning to the basket and overpowering the opposition. Was 3-12 in the first half from the field and 8-11 in the second half. All made shots were within 8 feet of the rim and most were around the basket. He did not make one shot while facing the basket or in shooting off the dribble. Decent free throw shooter but a very inconsistent release when facing the basket from 8 feet and out. Ties up and does not let the shot flow when pressured or in shooting crunch time shots. He cannot shoot the ball. Shoots a dead ball on first pull-up jumper. Lacks touch on contested shots. Likes to drive left but does not show much finesse with the ball. Shooting touch is lacking from close to mid-range. Explosiveness allows him to shoot over the top of the defense. Powering the ball to the basket. Needs to develop wing skills - probably the first time that a coach has allowed him to play away from the post - gaining valuable experience in playing on the wing. Inconsistent release - shoots a hard/flat shot from deep. Needs to develop ball handling skills (passing and dribbling). Loose with the ball - not protecting the ball well. Tries to face the basket and attack off the dribble but has to resort to turning his back to protect the ball. Trouble making a contested short to mid-range jumper.

Has potential as a defender and rebounder. Potential to be a very good rebounding prospect with his strength and athleticism but I question if he has the instincts and desire of a great rebounder. Rebounds on sheer physical talent. So explosive and quick to balls that are in his area. Does not anticipate or pursue the ball that well. Not good at locating a man and blocking them out. Shot blocking ability with either hand. Possesses good timing and great jumping ability. Good off the ball shot blocking ability - can protect the lane. Not challenged defensively in this game. Not having to play hard or defend/deny the wing. Able to give room and camp out in the lane. Needs to improve as an off the ball defender. Not a good on the ball perimeter defender. Poor effort defensively in getting over the top of a screen. Just gives up and quits - does not consistently compete hard enough for me on the defensive end. Plays defense in spurts. Does not apply good pressure on the ball. Not a good anticipator - not reading the passer. Playing him on top of the floor against a little point guard who has been getting off - did give an effort in attempting to cut off penetration but he does not have that type of mobility and defensive quickness to try to guard a little man. Don't have a clue about his post defense, but I suspect that he could be very good given his physical traits. Should be a more dominant rebounder but he impresses me as the type of player who will play to his level of competition.

Don't see a killer instinct in him. He should have dominated this competition and he did not - Lack of basketball skill hinders him. I have to be knocked out to recommend us to pursue/take a high school kid. It was barely a split decision. Should we continue to evaluate him? Yes - I could see him slipping to our pick and we should definitely build a book on him to see how he competes in different situations. Would be interesting to see him play against Carolina's JV team in Chapel Hill to see if he plays harder when the bright lights are on him. Would I consider taking him? Not at this time, I don't like his competitive make-up and his lack of basketball skills. If I was a college coach, I would be drooling over him. He can be a fine prospect if he pursues the traditional path but If he chooses to go the NBA route he could be a big bust. I think that it is very hard to develop a young player on the professional level who has raw physical tools but lacks a good basketball foundation in terms of fundamentals and knowledge for the game. How does a player like this earn court time. I believe young players without a college background need consistent minutes in the early stages of their career to develop. They have to play and I don't see a pro coach playing this guy much in the early stages of his career.

GRANTLAND ARTICLE

I'm providing a link to Jonathan Abrams article on Korleone Young that appeared on Grantland's site on September 19, 2013 - The Forgotten Phenom