PBC Mid Major, Big Game: Cameron Young

Cameron Young is a 6’6” wing for the Quinnipiac Bobcats. Young took a nontraditional path by beginning his career at Arizona Western. After excelling at the JuCo level, Young transferred to Quinnipiac, playing only sparingly in the 2016-17 season. He finally got his breakthrough last season, scoring 622 points and setting a new Quinnipiac single-season record at the DI level. After receiving Second-Team All-MAAC and MAAC All-Tournament Team honors, Young was granted another year of collegiate eligibility. He has taken full advantage of the opportunity by becoming one of the most prolific heat-check volume scorers and three-point threats in college basketball, earning the MAAC Player of the Year award, and gaining some buzz amongst professional scouts.

Tale of the Tape

Isolation Scoring
Cameron Young has been a highly effective isolation scorer this season.  Despite often facing the opposition’s best one-on-one perimeter defender and frequent secondary help defenders, Young has proven capable of creating efficient off-the-dribble looks.

In 75 isolation possessions this season, Young has notched 86 points. This 1.147 PPP conversion clip ranks in the 94th percentile among qualified players.  Young often seeks to create space for a step-back jumper, or uses the threat of his jumper to get into the paint and draw fouls. In isolation possessions, Young gets to the free throw stripe twice as frequently (24% of possessions) as he commits turnovers (12% of possessions).

Young’s ability to score at all three levels makes him such a dangerous isolation threat.  He can shiftily get to the rim by using a series of foot fakes and lengthy strides to circumnavigate defenders en route to the rim.  His low sweeping crossover allows him to get the defender moving one direction before attacking the opposite hip to gain driving leverage.  Young’s elevation on his pull-up allows him to get clean looks over smaller defenders.

Young particularly thrives in creating off-the-dribble pull-up jumpers, on which he converts at a 1.222 PPP clip, ranking in the 97th percentile among qualified players. His go-to move entails getting downhill as a driver, initiating a bit of contact, quickly decelerating, changing direction via space-covering step-back footwork, and sticking a pull-up from range.  Young’s off-the-dribble pull-up acumen, shot mechanics, and the stress that such a constant shooting threat puts on the opposing defense has led to an uncanny ability to draw shooting fouls on three-point attempts.

Below, we will highlight Young’s ability to score in isolation.

This off-the-dribble isolation scoring package, in conjunction with Young’s catch-and-shoot (88th percentile) and spot-up (96th percentile) prowess, causes opposing defenses to aggressively crowd Young and try to run him off the line.  Young could greatly increase his offensive value by becoming more versatile and efficient in capitalizing on these advantage situations. When attacking the paint following aggressive closeouts, Young can be a bit haphazard with his decision-making. If he can learn to be a bit more under control and make optimal drive-and-kick reads rather than force difficult, contested, low percentage looks, he will become an even more dynamic offensive weapon.

Hand-Offs
Young is extremely comfortable as a scoring threat following on-ball pick-and-roll or hand-off actions. While he certainly excels as a 93rd percentile scorer as a pick-and-roll handler on a high volume of attempts, Young scores at an even higher PPP clip following hand-off actions in the flow of the Bobcats’ secondary half-court offense.  After a bit of misdirection and potential quick-hitter looks early in the shot clock, the Bobcats look to get the ball in Young’s hands when it matters the most.

Following hand-off actions, Young converts at a rate of 1.203 PPP, ranking in the 88th percentile while turning it over on only 6.8% of such possessions (his second lowest TOV% of any specific offensive possession play-type).

These hand-off plays in the Bobcats’ offense could very well translate to Young’s initial role at the outset of his professional level.  As not a particularly natural playmaker for others, Young will likely find himself in an off-ball role with a lower usage than his current role at Quinnipiac. Young has the chance to thrive in such a role by knocking down open catch-and-shoot spot-up looks, as well as capitalizing on some secondary hand-off actions from the wing. Modern NBA offenses often initiate their half-court offense with a lead guard pick-and-roll, which is often followed by a secondary wing hand-off action following a ball reversal if the initial pick-and-roll looks don’t come to fruition.

Young’s game is well-suited for such offensive actions. He has a good feel for using the player handing the ball off to him as a virtual screener.  He can then turn the corner to force a switch or rise up and shoot if the defense fails to communicate.

In the clip below, we highlight Young’s ability to score following hand-off actions.

PBC Projection

Young is a flat-out elite scorer. He shoots it from deep with the best of them, is an elite self-creator off-the-bounce, has good feel as an on-ball pick-and-roll/hand-off scorer, sells believable shot fakes, and is one of the shiftier players in the country. His 55-point effort in a victory over Siena (outdueling rising freshman NBA prospect Jalen Pickett) was one of the highlights of the college hoops season and a notable signature moment in Young’s developing case to get his shot at the NBA.

Young projects to receive a Portsmouth Invitational Tournament invite in the coming weeks and will likely earn a spot on an NBA Summer League roster. His dynamic scoring repertoire will be quite appealing for NBA G League teams and European clubs, alike. Young and his agent will likely end up with a choice between these two routes, either of which he has a great shot of being an elite scorer as he continues his pursuit at an eventual shot at the NBA.

Jon Chepkevich serves as the Director of Scouting for the Professional Basketball Combine. In his role at STATS LLC, Jon reviews the financial terms/profitability of customer contracts, develops NBA minutes projections, and records live statistics for NCAA and NBA games. When he isn’t in the office, Jon enjoys Chicago’s competitive pick-up hoops scene, dissecting NBA draft prospects, and performing salary cap analysis.
​Follow Jon on Twitter @JonChep.

James Fox serves as a Scouting Intern for the Professional Basketball Combine. James attends the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he is a student-athlete on the men’s basketball team. He plans on graduating in May with a Sports Management degree. Outside of the classroom and off the court, James enjoys attending Wisconsin sporting events with friends and family as well as watching plenty of NCAA and NBA basketball.
​Follow James on Twitter @JamesFox23.