Coach: James Young Will Likely Decide Early

James Young will likely sign in November, not the spring, according to his former AAU coach.

“He’s sitting down now with his family and trying to decide when to make the visits and go from there,” Marlon “Smoke” Williamson, Young’s former coach with the Detroit-based AAU club “The Family,” told SNY.tv Monday.

Asked when Young would sign, Williamson said: “It’s up in the air right now. I think it’s probably going to be early, I doubt if he waits.”

Williamson, who recently became an assistant under Derek Kellogg at UMass, said Young’s “top four” consisted of Kentucky, Michigan State, Arizona and Kansas.

Kentucky has long been considered the No. 1 option for Young, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard whose stock rose heavily during the spring and summer.

“He still loves them,” Williamson said. “He’s just weighing all his options right now.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari watched Young throughout the Nike Global Challenge — where he led Team USA Midwest to the title over Andrew Wiggins and Team Canada — and the Peach Jam.

“That school [Kentucky] right now is across the board the school that you want to attend if you want to get out [of college] early,” Williamson said.

“Coach Cal has done a great job taking kids to the next level. Of course that will be somebody you will consider heavy.”

Young also told SNY.tv during the Peach Jam that his goal was to be one-and -done.

Still, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, Kansas coach Bill Self and Arizona coach Sean Miller also watched Young quite a bit in July.

“It’s up in the air,” Williamson said. “He’s really weighing his options, trying to figure out what is best for him.”

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