We are profiling each member of the 2011-12 Creighton men’s basketball team. Join us weekdays from now until the men’s exhibition opener against Rockhurst for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
See all of our 2011-12 Creighton men’s basketball profiles
Young could be one of the best point guards in the nation. (Adam Streur/WBR)
Antoine Young, Creighton’s lone senior scholarship player, recently earned mention as one of the nation’s 30 best under-the-radar players. Young might not be a household name nationally, and his teammate Doug McDermott may have commanded a brighter spotlight last season as a freshman rewriting some CU record books. But true Creighton fans are well aware of his talents and grateful for how he’s developed as a player.
Young was a three-time first-team All-Nebraska pick at Bellevue West. But before that run, and following a freshman year in high school during which he was the sixth man on a state title team, Young became the youngest commitment in Creighton basketball history. As CU fans watched Young’s high school career unfold, it was clear he would make an impact on the Hilltop sooner than later.
As a freshman, just as it happened in high school, Young came off the bench to spell Josh Dotzler, Creighton’s senior point guard. He played in all 34 games and earned MVC All-Bench Team honors. Still, that season ended in disappointment, with the Bluejays unable to earn an at-large NCAA Tournament birth and losing to Kentucky in the NIT.
As a sophomore, with expectations high for what would be Altman’s last team at Creighton, Young led the Valley in assist-to-turnover ratio and nearly doubled his points per game (7.1, from 4.9 as a frosh). He played almost twice as many minutes as a sophomore, and committed just 2 more turnovers than during his freshman year. On a team that lost erratic P’Allen Stinnett during conference play, Young often carried the load offensively from the lead guard spot. And as Altman left and uncertainty surrounded the CU program, Young was left to lead the offense as a junior under new coach Greg McDermott.
Young didn’t disappoint. As Doug McDermott quickly rounded into shape as a scoring sidekick, Young averaged 14 points in his first 7 games and never looked back. He almost doubled his scoring per game again (13.1 from 7.1 ppg), led the Valley in assist-to-turnover ratio again, and became the first Valley player since 1992-93 to lead the league in assists per game and rank amongst the top ten in scoring. In essence, he did it all for the Bluejays as McDermott established himself as a premier player and as Gregory Echenique worked himself back from a year-long layoff from competitive hoops.
Now, Young begins a season that he hopes will end in the NCAA Tournament.
“When you’re a player and come to college, all you dream about is playing in the NCAA Tournament. I’m getting tired of sitting and watching all the time, and filling out a bracket without us in there,” Young said. “So hopefully we can get there. The coaches will do what they can to get us there, and we’ll see what happens.”
Young will end his Creighton career playing not for the guy who recruited him, but for a coach under whom he has flourished as the team’s iron man.
“Coach Mac gets on me with constructive criticism, but he helps me out with a lot of my game. Even when I am having a good game there is something that he can tell me to look at, to fix,” Young said. “He is definitely a great coach and I love playing for him.”
Young mentioned confidence when asked specifically what parts of his game Coach McDermott has helped him improve.
“I have become really, really confident in my game and how I do things, trying to get better every day,” he said. “I have definitely changed since coming in as a freshman, and I hope that continues this year. I want to have a fun year with my teammates, and I want to win.”
As for that under-the-radar ranking?
“I kind of like it,” Young said. “It is kind of like being an underdog. I just want to go out and play my game and be aggressive. Just do what I have been doing since I started playing basketball, taking what the defense gives me and being a good player.”