Las Vegas Aces Guard Jackie Young has been successful at all levels of basketball. She holds the NCAA Division I title in the high school championship, Notre Dame, and last summer she won the Olympic gold medal at her first 3×3 tournament. Now, as the first WNBA All-Star, Young from India has added another praise towards her ultimate goal.
“Everyone wants a ring. I definitely want one,” Young said, adding that “it’s closed every year.”
Young is celebrating his fourth WNBA season in Las Vegas, with annual playoffs, including a trip to the 2020 finals. Ace chose her overall No. 1 in the 2019 draft.
Young is one of Ace’s top defensive weapons and has posted the highest number of attacks in her career. This helped her gain her position as a starter on her all-star debut this weekend. The All-Star Game is Sunday in Chicago.
When Young came to Las Vegas in 2019, it was her first big move away from Indiana. She was the middle child, and her brother Terence and her sister Chiare were also playing basketball.
Jackie attended Princeton Community High School and scored 3,268 career points for the women’s basketball team. This is a record for women’s and men’s teams. From Princeton, Young traveled about 300 miles northeast to play for Notre Dame.
As a sophomore, she lost the game’s highest 32 points in the 2018 Final Four Semifinal Game with Connecticut.In a championship game with Mississippi, Young hit a shot that tied the game and came up with a theft that led to her teammates. Arike Ogunbowale’s Game Winning Basket.. Young played another season at Notre Dame before entering his 2019 WNBA draft.
“Playing at the WNBA has always been my dream, and it was a decision for my family. I knew I needed to help my family, and that’s what I did. I’ve worked for my whole life, “Young said.
She described her family as a “close relationship” and said she had an uncle and aunt around to help her mother, Linda Young. Her extended family sometimes shared her home to be financially floating. Jakelin Young’s decision to leave her Notre Dame meant that her family was less financially burdened.
“My mother, a single mother, made many sacrifices for me and my brother,” Young said. “She definitely went without making sure we put food on the table and dressed on her back, so if I was going to go, would I have the opportunity to leave early? I knew. “
Young will earn about $ 72,000 this season and more than $ 165,000 each in the next two seasons until he becomes an unlimited free agent in 2025. According to her hoop stats..
The transition from her college to the WNBA was quick.
Notre Dame lost slightly to Baylor by one point at the 2019 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in Tampa, Florida. Three days later, Young was in New York City and was announced as the first comprehensive pick for the WNBA Draft.
A’ja Wilson of Ace Forward made a similar transition to the WNBA of the previous year, but with a twist. Aces has also moved from San Antonio Stars. After spending 15 seasons in Texas, the franchise moved to Las Vegas as Wilson’s first season ace.
“We were such a new franchise when I was drafted,” Wilson said. “I didn’t have a quoteless veterinarian who knew that kind of rope.”
Wilson decides to accept the chance to become Young’s sister.
“Jackie was like the first newcomer we had,” she said. “In a sense, we were already pretty well established, so I became a vet I didn’t have for her and asked all the questions she needed, making sure she was comfortable. I wanted to be able to answer. “
Young is now a veteran and she will be held liable when asked by another player or ace coach Becky Hammon to claim herself.
“I talked to Becky early in the season. I was talking about court perceptions and seeing things before that happened,” Young said. She added: I work every day. “
This work is not overlooked by Wilson, who won the League’s Best Player Award in 2020.
“Jackie is someone who understands 100% of his assignments. She’s a professional in what she’s doing and watching her growth. To be honest, it’s incredible to see. “Wilson recently told reporters. She added: “She is trapped no matter what, and she makes sure that the people around her are doing the same.”
Another challenge for Young is knowing when to cut off competitiveness.
“She’s always in the gym. I have to get rid of her,” Hamon told reporters recently before winning the Minnesota Lynx.
“I literally tell her to go home and take the ball and put it on the rack,” she added.
Hamon, who retired as a San Antonio Stars guard, said he believes Young is on the way to being a candidate for this season’s MVP award. She trusts Young by defending the best border shooters every night.
“I’m really proud of that,” Young said. “I know how to stop by, and I have a big mission every night, so I think everyone on this team knows that.”
As Hamon sees, the next level in Young’s game is to be more vulnerable to attacks. It is closely related to her growing up to be her confident communicator in court — the floor general.
“I want her to be an animal. Mr. Hamon said,” That’s what I want, “he said,” understanding that she could influence such games. Please understand that such attention can be aggressively requested. “
Offensively, Young posts his career count in points and steals each game, while continuing her credible defense. She averages about 17 points per game, more than 10 points per game above her rookie season average. Her 46.9% accuracy from the 3-point range is one of the best in the league to enter the All-Star Break.
On Sunday, Young will not only appear in her first WNBA All-Star game, but will also start on the other side of Las Vegas Aces teammates Wilson and Kelsey Plum.
Will a fun festival in Chicago be an opportunity for hard-working young people to shift to lower gear? It’s unlikely.
“I don’t think Jackie’s competitiveness will be reduced,” Plum said. “I think she’s going to do what she’s doing.”
This is also Plum’s first all-star appearance, and she is ready to take on Young. Both of them were set to compete in Saturday’s skill contest.
“I know she’s trying to beat everyone, including me,” Plum said. “It’s just who she is. She wants to win everything. And if she doesn’t win, someone has been fooled.”
