Nick Young, His Mohawk, His Girlfriend, His Movie
With the 16th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, I just wanted the Washington Wizards to select someone with a smidgen of personality. They took Nick Young. Here's what I've found out about Nick Young.
* He's dating Carol Rodriguez, Puerto Rico's 2006 Women's Athlete of the Year and one of the top collegiate sprinters in the country, who also happens to be a model.
* He's been known to sport a mohawk now and then, and actually claimed credit tonight for making the mohawk fashionable. He's also had his initials and the Jordan Brand logo shaved into his head at various times, and he said he might bring back the mohawk next fall "just to fit in with the Wizards," which is the right way to approach this team.
* He also has been known to wear skateboard gear featuring images of skeletons, and in fact said he used to skateboard when growing up in the San Fernando Valley.
* He has a reputation for being quite the dunker, and told me that he has "immense hops" and "flying ability." "I should be in the dunk contest, maybe this year," he said, "doing some Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins."
* He was the only player in the Green Room with a two-toned outfit; dark slacks and a white coat. "I come from L.A. this is how we do it in L.A.," he told me. "I'm more of mainstream Hollywood."
Which was an apt phrase, considering Young is also the subject of a documentary, "Second Chance Season," which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival last week. After originally intending to make Young part of a pilot for a regional television series, the filmmakers instead followed Young throughout his senior year of high school, as he battled with academic and eligibility issues, and as his family continued to grapple with the shooting death of Charles Young Jr., the oldest of five kids. NCAA restrictions meant the film couldn't be released while Young was in college, which led to the release this month, and the filmmakers had three cameras at the draft so that they could complete the story. They're rushing the footage back to L.A. Friday morning, will re-edit the ending and show a final screening on Sunday, and then start talking to distributors.
The director and co-producer, Daniel Forer, watched the draft tonight among the masses in Madison Square Garden. And Forer--a nine-time Emmy winner who used to be a producer/director for CBS Sports--is sort of high on this Nick Young fella.
"In 30 years, I've covered probably hundreds if not thousands of athletes; a handful of them had the personality and charisma, the infectious personality of Nick Young," he said. "And I can say Muhammad Ali, Brett Favre, Magic Johnson...."
"Come on," I said.
"Oh, you have no idea," Forer said. "Washington has no idea what they have now got in Nick Young. No one knows. He is one of the most wonderful, joyous people you will ever meet in your life. And he will make everyone forget about their problems and just enjoy watching him and the Wizards. It is a gift.
"It's hard to believe," he admitted as I stared at him. "I was there in Los Angeles when Magic started, the first year he arrived, and Los Angeles had no idea what they were getting. Washington has no idea what they're getting in Nick Young. He is a blessing, a gift. Now I'm not saying on the court, I don't know how he'll perform, but off the court he's just a special human being."
I gave the spiel about the Wizards, and their various quirks, and Gilbert Arenas, trying to see whether Young would fit in, but Forer knows all about Gilbert.
"If you think Gilbert was quirky and liked to kid around, you ain't seen nothing yet," Forer said. "I'm serious."
So anyhow, I guess Nick Young has a smidgen of personality.
By Dan Steinberg |
June 28, 2007; 10:58 PM ET
| Category:
Wizards
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Posted by: Jamie Mottram | June 28, 2007 11:35 PM
I liked this guy cuz of his athletic ability, but now i love him cuz it sounds like he has alot of SWAG!
Posted by: Raman Ghuman | June 28, 2007 11:44 PM
Watch out Mrs. Steinz, Dan should be giddy tonight. Nick Young is going to make next year a joyride.
Posted by: smperk | June 28, 2007 11:49 PM
YEAHH!!! THE Wizards finally got really LUCKY and got themselves BOTH an excellent guard(which they despirately needed!!)AND an EXCITING character!!! KUDOS for finally CHANGING their tired old stodgy ways!!
Posted by: eddie m. driver | June 29, 2007 02:50 AM
I was really hoping that he would be around when the Wiz turn to pick came. I had been reading up on him and knew that he was high on EG's list. I am very excited because now we will add another skilled shooter and zany personality to the fun roster we already have. Great job! I am really looking forward to next season. Now, if we can shore up the middle and bone up on our defense.
Posted by: WizFan4Life | June 29, 2007 07:55 AM
"Noodles" Nick Young is going to make quite a splash in DC, I can feel it!
Posted by: | June 29, 2007 07:55 AM
I was really hoping that he would be around when the Wiz turn to pick came. I had been reading up on him and knew that he was high on EG's list. I am very excited because now we will add another skilled shooter and zany personality to the fun roster we already have. Great job! I am really looking forward to next season. Now, if we can shore up the middle and bone up on our defense.
Posted by: WizFan4Life | June 29, 2007 07:55 AM
Huge fan of this pick!! Good job Ernie and staff
Posted by: GoWix! | June 29, 2007 08:14 AM
Huge fan of this pick!! Good job Ernie and staff
Posted by: GoWiz! | June 29, 2007 08:14 AM
Great pick, but they need to sign Blatche?!?!?!?
Posted by: 91BKNupe | June 29, 2007 08:32 AM
Have the Wizards lost there mind? We needed a shot blocking/rebounding big man, we don't need offense. Our frontline is the sorriest of all in the NBA, no defense we should have taken a Shawn williams or even a Derrick Byars and the second pick is even more crazy, our GM must not watch college basketball, Mr.Nichols would have fit right in jarvis (no shooting) Hayes position. If I was Gil I would be saying see you later.
Posted by: gov man | June 29, 2007 09:42 AM
If the NBA combine results are any indication, Nick Young's right about his hops. He had a 39.5 inch standing vertical, and 40.5 max vertical - at a glance I think that was the highest standing leap and tied for highest running as well.
I, for one, welcome our new high-flying overlord to the Washington area.
Posted by: Josh | June 29, 2007 09:52 AM
Bye Bye Jarvis we are tired of seeing the ball bounce off the rim and now that will go away because Sir Nick has arrived and not only can he nail that 18 footer on a regular basis but he has something Jarvis never showed and that is when the jumper is not working he can take it to the basket with the best of them and besides we need to see some alley oops more in D.C. and Nick can go gettem anywhere around the square with ease
Posted by: merkdog | June 29, 2007 10:20 AM
not a single period, not even at the end of the post. my head asplode.
Posted by: bryc3 | June 29, 2007 10:28 AM
I wayched Nick in college and high school and i'm very surprise that this guy was there to be picked when it was the wizard's turn. I am not going to be unfair to the kid but when you see him play you will see that he reminds you of someone we idle alot(Jordan) he's a great athlete but he also has swagger oozing out his ears. He will dunk on your biggest guy and stare him down afterwards as if to say why did you jump and get embarrased. He's great not good and the only problem I see in this kid is the wizard's coaching staff. My advice to that staff is there are some players you coach and have to be patient with but this guy(Nick) needs to be let loose so he can do his thing. My prediction on Nick is 18 points 6 rebounds per night and he will stick the best shooter from the other team consistantly. Next year an all star appearance is very possible, but this year we will settle for the Slam Dunk trophy.
Posted by: Merkdog | June 29, 2007 10:35 AM
Wow, this is great.
Posted by: SomeWizardsFan | June 29, 2007 10:43 AM
Dude(bryc3) I am not trying to win a spelling bee so stop sitting around correcting folks grammer dont you have something else you can be doing. also before you correct others on their grammer learn how to start a sentence. Hint capital letters normally start the sentence off so correct yourself before trying to be someone elses teacher. Damn
Posted by: Merkdog | June 29, 2007 10:44 AM
I dub nick young: "YOUNG HOLLYWOOD" He's gonna bring the bright lights DC and stir up some political blogging. Nice pick EG
Posted by: LiveFromLA | June 29, 2007 11:03 AM
I dub nick young: "YOUNG HOLLYWOOD" He's gonna bring the bright lights DC and stir up some political blogging. Nice pick EG
Posted by: LiveFromLA | June 29, 2007 11:04 AM
Great Move to get Nick Young, now sign Blatche, get Pecherov on the roster, let Ethan Thomas play (more than 18 monutes), and get a healthy Darius Songaila. Finally, go out and sign "Jeff McInnis" - a True Point Guard. Can You Say Eastern Finals.
Posted by: Louisiana - Young Pete D. | June 29, 2007 11:32 AM
I feel that along wizards big three is not playing over 40 mins a game this season and keep nick as the six man we will be feel.
Posted by: Jay | June 29, 2007 12:40 PM
I think he can be a very solid starter I even think he can start as early as next year. But I don't think he can put up 18 points per game since the big three are gonna be geting and scoring the most on the offense of side.Like they have been for the past two years.
Posted by: Mdog | June 29, 2007 12:47 PM
Great writeup on NY. NY is not going to drop 18 and and 6 next year. But reading about his personality did give me the goosebumps. We'll see. Jeff McInnis is like cancer on whatever team he joins. And he has a tendency to hook up with his coach's wife. Get that Spanish dude whom we drafted a couple of years ago.
Posted by: Ted | June 29, 2007 01:33 PM
I can attest to Young's hops. In the open practice before USC played UNC in the Sweet 16 he reeled off a couple of dunk contest worthy slams, including one double-clutch reverse that was pretty insane. He's the real deal...at least when it comes to dunking.
Posted by: DM | June 29, 2007 01:40 PM
Good pick for the mob squad.
Posted by: Blue Sky | June 29, 2007 03:54 PM
Good pick for the mob squad.
Posted by: Blue Sky | June 29, 2007 03:54 PM
You're gonna love Nick. I've been watching him the last three years at USC. Although I love the dunks, game in and game out, you're gonna love his "go-to" shot, the 15 foot fadeaway jumper (ala Jordan/Kobe). It's unstoppable. Also, from what I've seen, he seems to be a hard-working, humble kid who just has fun on the court. P.S. You can find the USC/UNC practice dunk on youtube.
Posted by: HBC | June 29, 2007 05:28 PM
if you wanna see his dunking ability, here a great vid from youtube.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IdTh1RPIVAU
pretty sick, i watched him at SC the last three years and hope he does well for you in Washington
Posted by: Sean | June 30, 2007 01:22 PM
but who do you guys think we can get for etan thomas maybe we can package him with AD and next years 2nd round pick and we may be able to get someone decent....if we do trade AD anyways which i would only approve of is if we were getting a good player in return..but if we do i think we should go after Steve Blake look at the nice job he did with Denver!! at first i was a little iffy about Dom McGuire but now after reading al his stats and comparing them and reading all these blogs and comments im starting to think that this may be one of the biggest steals in the draft according to his stats i would think this kid would be gone in the mid first round to late first round...this kid is good...o yeah and another thing i say we only trade jamison if we can get Amre Stoudemire, Jermaine O'Neal, or Pau Gasol if we can't get these guys i believe or team should stay the same
Posted by: | July 1, 2007 08:52 AM
but who do you guys think we can get for etan thomas maybe we can package him with AD and next years 2nd round pick and we may be able to get someone decent....if we do trade AD anyways which i would only approve of is if we were getting a good player in return..but if we do i think we should go after Steve Blake look at the nice job he did with Denver!! at first i was a little iffy about Dom McGuire but now after reading al his stats and comparing them and reading all these blogs and comments im starting to think that this may be one of the biggest steals in the draft according to his stats i would think this kid would be gone in the mid first round to late first round...this kid is good...o yeah and another thing i say we only trade jamison if we can get Amre Stoudemire, Jermaine O'Neal, or Pau Gasol if we can't get these guys i believe or team should stay the same
Posted by: | July 1, 2007 08:52 AM
D.C fans I've watch Nick under extreme pressure in many of SC games and he delivered with 6'9-7' players slapping at him. He has moves that Kobe has never even seen before...he's the straight up Truth. Go Wizzard!!!!
Posted by: | July 3, 2007 02:34 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Nick Young is a Bogging goldmine. Cheers, Steinz!