Prospect Spotlight: Elijah Young (2019)
North Adams High School sophomore Elijah Young (2019) has had a unique season. Showing tremendous adversity, Elijah went from being a 3 man for the Devils to running the show as a point guard. After losing their leading scorer halfway through the season, Elijah and the rest of his teammates stepped up and changed their roles. “(Point guard) was a role I have never played before. I had to work on my ball handling more, and getting everyone set up in the offense”. There were definitely moments of struggle for the young guard, but there were also plenty of moments where Elijah showed great potential. In the game I saw him play against Glenwood, Elijah showed great patience with the basketball and didn’t rush the offense or force unnecessary shots or turnovers. He played as if he had been a point guard his whole life.
One of the best parts of Elijah’s game is is he such a balanced player with incredible work ethic. “I give it all I got every time I step on the court. If it’s practice or a game I give 100%”. With Elijah playing point guard but having a post player background, it makes him a dangerous player and difficult to guard. Elijah wants to see continual improvement in his game as a guard. “If I continue playing point guard, I need to improve my ball handling and getting to the rim and finishing”. With his strong work ethic and desire to improve, I expect Elijah to show improvement by next season.
One of the hardest things for a basketball player to do is change positions, especially during midseason when they are already accustomed to a certain position and certain style of play. In Elijah’s case, going from small forward to point guard comes with challenges. “I was under a lot of pressure. Everything relied on me. I was to set everyone up in the offense and know everyone’s spots”. If anything comes out of this situation it is this: Elijah Young is capable of beating an opponent as a forward and with more practice, will be able to beat an opponent as a guard as well. This trait will definitely make Elijah more appealing to college coaches/scouts looking for a taller guard.
North Adams is located in Adams County, a relatively unknown area of the state in terms of basketball. Besides Peebles and Lynchburg-Clay, very few teams from the county advance deep in the state tournament. I asked Elijah what makes basketball in Adams County special and if he feels his team is underrated due to it’s location. “Down here we don’t have much to do on a Friday night, so everyone comes out to basketball games…basketball is very big down here in Adams County”. In response to whether he feels North Adams is underrated, he said “No we’re not. We earn whatever we get”.
What impresses me most after talking with Elijah Young is the desire to become a better player and his ability to overcome adversity. Although he currently does not own any offers for basketball, I expect a few schools will show interest down the road. Only being a sophomore, Elijah has plenty of time to improve. He does hope to receive an offer for baseball, the other sport he excels at at North Adams. If you follow basketball in Adams County, or just want to follow a dark horse player in the state, make sure you take a look at Elijah Young and the North Adams Devils.