Before Ohio State forward Kyle Young was an Ohio State Buckeye, he was an Ohio high school phenom playing for the Massillon Jackson Polar Bears. Lest anyone forgets, he was rated as one of Butler’s highest-ever rated recruits when he verbally committed to Chris Holtmann’s program.
Then, Holtmann took the job at Ohio State and Young followed him to Columbus. Since that time, it’s been an up and down, injury-riddled career, but there’s no doubt what Young means to the Buckeye program.
The folks in Stark County know how good Jackson is. In fact, the Canton Repository recently named its All-Decade Stark County Ohio high school boys basketball team, and Jackson not only made the first-team, but was named its player of the decade.
Check out @CantonRepdotcom online & in print today for our Stark County Boys Basketball All-Decade Team. We also will have "Decade Rewind" material in the coming days. Let me know what you think! https://t.co/heVtz0b1vY
— Josh Weir (@jweirREP) June 7, 2020
Here’s what the Repository says about Jackson:
“HIS GAME: Skilled big man and explosive athlete who can play above the rim.”
“HIS RÉSUMÉ: Led Jackson to the 2017 Division I state championship, two district titles and three straight Federal League titles. … Averaged 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds as a senior in repeating as Canton Repository Stark County Player of the Year. Shot 57.9% from the floor, 34.9% from 3-point range and 74.4% from the foul line. … Three-time Federal League Player of the Year and two-time Northeast Inland District Player of the Year. … All-Ohio first team twice. … Finished second in balloting for Ohio’s AP Mr. Basketball as a senior. … Sixth-leading scorer in Stark County history at 1,582 career points.”
Hopefully, Young will be healthy all year for Ohio State. He could have himself a breakout campaign if he can put it all together. He has the potential to be more of a scorer with the departure of Kaleb Wesson, and with his skillset and minutes, he could surprise folks with what he’s able to do.