Draft:Ray Young

Ray Henry Young III (b. March 20, 1980) is a former professional basketball player and regarded as one the most decorated bay area high school basketball players of all-time. Born in Berkeley (CA), Ray was raised and attended elementary and middle school in nearby Oakland, where he quickly burst onto the Bay Area basketball scene.

In 1993, as an 8th grader, Ray was named by Cal-Hi Sports as one of the states top 8th grade basketball players in California. He then went on to attend, the well-known bay area basketball school, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda and play for Coach Frank LaPorte. Ray quickly became a starter as a freshman and began leading a talented and deep Pilot squad - a group that later became one of the state's and nation's top teams. As a junior, during the 1996-'97 season, Ray led the Pilots to a CIF Norcal Division I Championship and a berth in the state title game, where they were narrowly defeated by Crenshaw, 88-82. The Pilots ended that season with a 31-4 record, were consistently featured in USA Today's Top 25 teams, and finished the season ranked #2 in California. That year, among other league, metro and state-wide honors, Ray was named the San Francisco Examiner's Metro Player of the Year and Gatorade's California Junior Player of the Year. During the summer of 1997, and before his senior campaign, Ray was a member of EBO / EA Sports All-Stars - teaming up with Matt Barnes, Carlos Boozer, Chris Jefferies and DeShawn Stevenson - and for a squad that some consider to be one of the best AAU teams ever assembled.

As a senior, Ray once again led the Pilots to a CIF Division I NorCal Championship and back to the state title game, where they were defeated by a Tony Bland and Brandon Granville-led Westchester team, 52-40. The Pilots finished the season with a 29-5 record, were consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally - and as high as #3 by Student Sports and #9 by The Sporting News - and once again finished the year ranked #2 in the state. Ray's list of senior accolades was long and included another San Francisco Examiner's Metro Player of the Year. A unanimous five-star recruit and considered a top-10 prospect in the 1998 class by many media outlets, Ray was named a McDonald's All-American and a first-team All-American by Student Sports. He was also named a second-team Parade All-American, third-team All-American by Basketball Times, a fifth-team All-American by All Star Sports Report and an Honorable Mention All-American by Slam Magazine. During his senior year, Ray was also selected as the featured writer for Slam Magazine's high school diary - a prestigious nod and column that has included the likes of Stephon Marbury, LeBron James and Kevin Love, among many others.

In addition to the McDonald's All-American game, Ray also participated in the Magic's Roundball Classic game and was selected as a member of the USA Junior National Select team as part of the Nike Hoop Summit. During the Nike Hoop Summit game against the World Select team, Ray scored five points off the bench for Junior National team, and during the game that is now famously known as the game where Dirk Nowitzki became a household name in America. Nowitzki led his World Select squad, with 33 points and 14 rebounds, to a shocking 104-99 win over a Rashard Lewis, Al Harrington, and a group of top high school All-Americans.

One of three McDonald's All-Americans (Dan Gadzuric and JaRon Rush) to sign with UCLA, Ray was part of the highly-touted Bruin freshman class of 1998. The class also included top-100 prospects Matt Barnes and Jerome Moiso. Ray went on to have a productive collegiate career and played in 123 games (starting a subset of these) throughout his five years in the program. Perhaps most memorable was Ray's Pac-10 tournament as a senior, where he led the Bruins with 17 points and a win against Arizona, which was the #1 team in the country at the time. He followed that game up with a 21-point performance against Oregon in Pac-10 semi-finals, where the Bruins were narrowly defeated, 75-74. Young was later named to the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team, alongside Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson. Among other collegiate honors, Ray was named a co-Captain (with Jason Kapono) and team co-MVP his senior year. Young was also the recipient of UCLA's prestigious John Wooden Award that same season, and also took home the Irv Pohlmeyer team award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player following his 1999-00 Bruin season.

Following his collegiate career, Ray played professionally for five years as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, CBA, NBA G-League, and Golden State Warriors preseason roster. While part of the Warriors preseason roster, Ray reunited with his high school teammate and fellow Pac-10 competitor, Justin Davis (Stanford). Young also participated in the NBA Summer League as a member of the New Orleans Hornets in 2005.

Young is now an executive at All The Smoke Productions, serving as Chief of Staff.