2018 big man Ryan Young commits to Northwestern

Northwestern basketball’s 2018 class is almost complete. Ryan Young, a 6-foot-10 big man from Bethlehem, PA, announced his commitment Wednesday afternoon.

Unlike the first two commits of the class, Jordan Lathon and Pete Nance, Young is not a heralded recruit. In fact, he does not appear to be ranked by any of the major recruiting sites. But don’t let that fool you. Young’s recruitment has been picking up steam this summer, and he is definitely an intriguing prospect.

Back in early August, Northwestern became Young’s first high major offer. After taking official visits to Evanston and Maryland, he also picked up an offer from the Terrapins just yesterday.

It’s not the greatest quality, but here are some highlights from Young’s high school career.

The biggest thing that stands out when watching his highlights is Young’s activity on the glass. He looks to have a high motor and the ability to finish around the hoop. I have also seen reports on Twitter that his jumpshot has improved this summer.

What this commitment means is that Northwestern only has one spot left in the 2018 class. Talen Horton-Tucker seems like even more of a longshot now, so ideally the final spot will be filled by one of the four-star wings that are seriously considering NU: Miller Kopp and Saddiq Bey.

While some may be underwhelmed by Young’s lack of recruiting pedigree, this could end up being just as big of a pickup as Lathon or Nance in the long run. Clearly, Chris Collins and his staff have seen things in Young that they like, and recruiting rankings are not a perfect measure of college success. Plus, it’s still entirely possible Young gets rated eventually with a big senior season. In Young and Nance, Collins has a solid frontcourt secured for the future.