Sam Young scores first NBA points

 

By Bob Smizik | Monday 10 a.m.

The NBA career of former Pitt standout Sam Young is off to a slow start but it’s must too early in the season to be making any judgments on where Young stands in the NBA and with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Young scored his first points of the season last night in a 133-123 loss to Denver. He had seven points in 10 minutes of playing time in what was his third game of the season.

Young is averaging 9.7 minutes a game, which is ninth among Memphis players.

The team’s top draft choice, Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut, also is progressing slowly. He’s played in two games and has two points and is averaging 12.4 minutes.

Another Memphis rookie, 6-8 forward DeMarre Carroll, who was selected late in the first round, is making a major contribution for the Grizzlies. Carroll is averaging 24.7 minutes and 6.0 points.

After a double-double in his first game and a considerable lesser performance in his second, former Pitt All-American DeJuan Blair came back Saturday night to score five points and grab 10 rebounds in a 113-96 San Antonio win over New Orleans. Blair is averaging 8.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 20.7 minutes.

 

Posted Nov 02 2009, 10:00 AM by Bob Smizik
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Comments

chancellorpink wrote re: Sam Young scores first NBA points
on Mon, Nov 2 2009 10:18 AM

Young has a sprained ankle that's still troubling him, and it was bad enough that his availability for the season opener was questionable.  i'm not sure if he'd be getting too many more minutes if his ankle was 100%, but i think it's possible.  also, he hit his first 3-pointer last night, had 2 blocks, 2 assists and a steal -- all in only 10 minutes -- and if he can start to show Memphis his whole game more, i think his minutes go up.

Blair got as many rebounds as Duncan Saturday, in 4 more minutes.  the Kings shut down San Antonio's front court offense for the most part, with the only big to score in double digits being Jefferson, who, like Sam Young, can drive to the hoop and shoot (Jefferson was 2-3 from 3-point range Sat).  but it is worth pointing out that McDyess did not play (flu), and the Spurs were in charge of the game the whole time, up by 16 at halftime, and 21 entering the 4th.  so, i fear Blair's big minutes (26) were, once again, mostly a factor of the game being in hand as well as McDyess' absence.

nonetheless, i still believe that as the season goes on, both Young and Blair will see their minutes increase, even when the games are still in doubt.  i maintain their skills levels are still diverse and valuable, even for the NBA.

chancellorpink wrote re: Sam Young scores first NBA points
on Mon, Nov 2 2009 10:27 AM

also have to add...although the Grizzlies are playing Carroll almost 25 minutes a game right now, clearly instead of playing Young more, Caroll is only 3-18 (17%) shooting so far.  so perhaps when Young's ankle is feeling better, and if Caroll's lousy shooting continues, they will start playing the guy they SHOULD have taken in the 1st round.

collegesportsfan wrote re: Sam Young scores first NBA points
on Mon, Nov 2 2009 12:13 PM

just remember that almost all of the NBA's first round picks, including even Thabeet, were based on the long term projections as opposed to providing immediate help .. which personally would't please me if I were a fan of some of the mediocre franchises, considering there are no guarantees on 19 & 20 year olds.

chancellorpink wrote re: Sam Young scores first NBA points
on Tue, Nov 3 2009 9:25 AM

clearly Young is starting to impress the Grizzlies coaching staff....as he played a whopping 3 minutes last night, going 0-1 from the field.  

meanwhile, DeMarre Carroll played 15 minutes, while adding to his impressive statistics so far...by going 0-3.  that makes Carroll 3-21 on the season, and this after a college carreer that was decidedly less impressive than Young's overall.

Carroll, at 23, is only one year younger than Young, so age cannot be a factor here.  yet, somehow, Carroll is making $190,000 more this season than Sam Young -- or an extra $63,000 a basket to date.