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Thaddeus Young has ties to New Orleans - and the Hornets are interested. There's a VERY strong chance they will draft a "Young", although it could be Nick Young or Thaddeus Young.
"I was very impressed with Thaddeus," Hornets Coach Byron Scott said after Young's workout this month. "I saw a bunch of tape on him this summer. And watching the tape I was impressed, but watching him out here in the workouts, two-on-two, one-on-one, he did a lot of things that I didn't see in the tape. I was impressed with his basketball IQ. He's definitely going to have a great career in this league."
Here's more info on Thad's primary "advisor":
A couple years later, Carter became the primary adviser to Thaddeus Young, just like he was for his dad 30 years earlier.
Carter is a prominent attorney, a former elected property assessor and father of former state Rep. Karen Carter, D-New Orleans, who lost a runoff to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson last fall. And in the world of high school basketball, sure enough, he dealt with politics, too.
Carter would communicate with the onslaught of college coaches, and the stingy shoe companies, too. He helped coordinate Young's pivotal summer at a prep school in New Haven, Conn. He followed him on the summer AAU tours to tournaments and camps "to make sure he wasn't exploited. There's lots of exploitation out there."
Carter would make sure Young wasn't overworked by coaches, and make sure he was getting proper medical treatment and nutrition.
And, perhaps most importantly, he provided guidance to the impressionable player, teaching him lessons about perseverance and integrity, which have spilled into Young's personality.
Lastly, look at this story and tell me how ANYONE can dump on this young man for pursuing a dream:
At the 2005 Hornets game, when Young met Shinn, New Orleans lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime. That night, LeBron James scored 44 points.
After the game, Carter and Young waited for the NBA star to come out of the locker room. James and Young met and had their picture taken together.
"Thaddeus was just so excited," Carter said. "He told LeBron, 'I'll be in the league one day, I'll be with you.'
"And now we have an opportunity for that to happen."
Folks, he and JC and Bosh and just about every other kid wearing the Tech uni have a dream. They have a dream to play professional ball. Who are you to criticize a guy when he has that chance now.
Over at the AJC, there's a blog from M.Knobler asking for thoughts as to why Tech has not had success with one-and-done players under Hewitt - citing Bosh, Young and Crittenton. I don't usually comment, but I did, and for me it boils down to this - freshman point guards. People often forget that Chris Bosh's one and only season was also Jarrett Jack's freshman season................ frosh...................... Javaris was a freshman starting point guard................... The fact that Bosh and Young were on these teams was incidental. Playing with a freshman point guard is an obstacle of mammoth proportions. Jarrett Jack as a junior with a supporting cast of a bunch of above average players took a ride to the national championship game.
You might cite Stephon Marbury's success or Kenny Anderson's success. However, don't forget that those guys were two of the best collegiate PG's to EVER play the game - and they had some amazing supporting casts when you think about it.