Draft:Ray Young

Ray Henry Young III (b. March 20, 1980) is a former professional basketball player and current executive at All The Smoke Productions. Ray is widely 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 sophomore) 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 the 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 before his senior year, Ray competed as a member of EBO / EA Sports All-Stars - teaming up with Matt Barnes, Carlos Boozer, Chris Jefferies and DeShawn Stevenson, among others - and for a squad that many consider to be one of the best AAU teams to ever be 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 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. That same season, Ray was 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. Following the 1998 season, Ray also played in the well-known Magic's Roundball Classic game and was selected as a member of the USA Junior National Select team, to compete as part of the Nike Hoop Summit and against a World Select squad. Ray scored five points off the bench for Junior National team, but the Hoop Summit is now well-known for the game where Dirk Nowitzki became a household name in the US - scoring 33 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, while leading the World squad to a 104-99 win over a Rashard Lewis and Al Harrington-led national team.

One of three McDonald's All-Americans (Dan Gadzuric and JaRon Rush) to sign with UCLA, Ray was part of the highly-touted Bruin class of 1998. The class also included top-100 prospects Matt Barnes and Jerome Moiso. Ray went on to have a solid 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, 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 the 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.