Prospect Spotlight: Piercen Young (2021)
Virginia is a big state, and one that produces high level players in all sports. With that being said, some areas are known to produce athletes in one sport more than others. In the Lynchburg area, football has ruled for a long time, especially in the public school system, but there’s a promising young prospect in Brookville’s Piercen Young that is ready to make his name known on the hardwood.
As a freshman, Young was thrust into a Brookville team that was rebuilding, and a lot was put on the 6’1” guard’s broad shoulders to get the job done. As the season progressed, he steadily got better and better, and the growing experience really has showed this summer with Team Loaded CVA 15U.
“Our team struggled a little bit, but me being one of the better players I was thrust into a leadership role early,” Young said. “Being a freshman that was a little tough, but I had to get through it and it helped me a lot.”
Young may still be a relatively unknown player, but his family is full of people who understand and excel at the game. His sister, Hannah Young, was a Class 3 All State selection for Brookville, and is headed into her freshman season at Kent State University in Ohio. Growing up, Young had to compete in the driveway more than he had to compete in youth basketball.
“My sisters really good, she works me really hard, I never beat her until earlier this year in one-on-one,” he said. “My Dad, he’s a good coach so I’ve learned a lot from my entire family and all that competitiveness, it’s been great.”
“It puts pressure on me, but I like it,” he continued. “It makes me work harder because I want to get to the point where I can go where she’s going.”
It’s easy to see the competitiveness his sister and father instilled in Young at an early age. When you watch him play he’s tough on himself, but in a good way. He competes for loose balls, bangs on the glass with guys bigger than him and takes pride on both ends of the floor. It’s what he says separates him from other guys his age.
“My toughness, I love to compete I love to work harder than everyone and beat everyone.”
While all of those intangibles are nice to see in a young player, you also have to be able to play and that he can. Young has a tremendous pull up in the lane with a high release point that’s tough to contest. He has a good understanding of the game and makes the right play time and time again. He can finish with both hands and is strong for his age.
All of that aside, he isn’t content and wants to continue to work on his game.
“I want to continue to work on everything really,” he said. “I need to continue to work on my shot, it’s good now but it can get more consistent. I’m continuing to work on getting stronger and I think I’ll be a lot better my sophomore year.”
Be sure to keep an eye out for Young this season, as there’s a good chance he’ll take a similar path that his sister took and blossom into a talented player as his career moves forward.