Young: UK players shouldn't listen to 40-0 talk
LEXINGTON, Ky. — With nine McDonald's All-Americans on the roster, the hype for the University of Kentucky basketball team this season will be inevitably enormous. But if that 40-0 talk pops up again?
"Don't listen to it at all," said James Young, who helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA championship game last season after a turbulent regular season that fell well short of perfection. "We kind of listened to it last year and it kind of got to us and we had an up-and-down season. So really just leave the media stuff alone and just stay focused. I think they're doing a good job right now."
Young, who declared for the NBA draft after his freshman season and was picked 17th overall by the Boston Celtics, was back in Lexington on Tuesday to work at a basketball camp for kids at UK.
"It was just so big for everybody," Young said of the 40-0 hype, which even made its way onto T-shirts last summer. "It was just everywhere. It was just talk about it every time on ESPN and stuff like that. It kind of got to us. We were always listening to it. We just had to block it out."
Young can admit now that the young Cats, who started five freshmen for most of last season, wasted too much time trying to live up to nearly impossible expectations. No college basketball team has gone undefeated since Indiana in 1976, after all.
"I feel like we de did a little bit … try to please everybody instead of just worrying about basketball and just playing," Young said. "Once we got past our little slump or whatever, we just started playing basketball."
Eight of the top 10 players from last year returned and four more freshmen McDonald's All-Americans have joined the team. Young expects they will be tough to beat, especially with all that size — seven players 6-8 or taller, three talented 7-footers — but he won't put any unnecessary pressure on them.
He's been there.
"They have a great team," said Young, sporting a fresh hairstyle – a closely-shorn look replacing the much longer 'do at UK. "They have a good chance next year to do a lot of good things."
He is anxious to get started with his new team, the Celtics, after a concussion he suffered in a car accident the week of the draft prevented him from playing in the NBA Summer League. Young said he was recently cleared by doctors and will soon resume preparation for his pro debut.
Young said the accident — he rear-ended a driver who stopped suddenly in front of him while out in Los Angeles for a workout — was a scary reminder.
"It shows you how fast things can change," Young said. "It really opened my eyes about things, and I'm very blessed that I'm here and I still get to play."
On draft night, Young admitted he didn't know much about the Celtics' rich history, but he planned to do his homework. He was more prepared Tuesday.
"I think they've got 17 championships, so we definitely gotta make it 18," Young said. "Uh, Larry — Larry Bird was a great guy that came up there."
Going from a storied college program to a title-hungry pro town, he thinks, will be an easy transition.
"I feel like their sports are just like Kentucky's and their fan base is just amazing, just like Kentucky's is," Young said. "So I feel like I'll be in the same place, like I was just here at Kentucky."
There's even a bitter rivalry — Celtics-Lakers — to make him feel at home. There's an added twist there with former UK teammate Julius Randle being drafted by Los Angeles.
"We're like brothers, so it's going to be a lot of competition between us," Young said. "It's like Kentucky and Louisville."
Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.