Forward Kyle Young Discusses Why He Returned To Ohio State For Extra Year Of Eligibility

On Friday morning, just one week after he announced he would take advantage of the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to all student-athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic, senior forward Kyle Young sat down with the media to discuss his decision.

🗣️🏀 @kyle_young25 talks about his decision to return to @OhioStateHoops exercising his option for an additional year in 2021-22

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨"

📹 full video https://t.co/60lD01bdwT pic.twitter.com/XAvaglvSvF
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) April 23, 2021

“This was something I was thinking about pretty much the majority of the year,” Young said. “Toward the end of the year, the way everything ended, just not being able to play, it wasn’t sitting right with me. My thought process was kind of like, ‘Did I want this to be my last year playing in an Ohio State uniform?’ Luckily, we were able to have an opportunity to use another year.”

The 6-foot-8 and 225-pound Young has averaged 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 108 games, including 65 starts, over four seasons with the Buckeyes. He’s also dealt with a number of injuries throughout his career, including concussion that kept him out of the final two games of the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament loss to Oral Roberts.

“It was tough watching, especially being in my fourth year,” Young said. “I really wanted to be a part of it. That whole time, I had the utmost confidence in my teammates. It wasn’t a matter of me being out.”

Though he’s now full healthy, it’s highly unlikely Young would have heard his name called in the NBA Draft had he opted to pursue a professional career. He did have conversations with agents this offseason about playing overseas, though, but admitted it was an overwhelming process that ultimately helped him make up his mind to return to school for another year.

“After weighing out my options, in my heart, I love this place and I want to do it in another year,” Young said. “That’s what it came down to, being close to my family and coming back and playing with these guys.

“This past year was great, we did some great things with this team. Just the chemistry we have with this team is special, but being able to have a full year that feels more normal and compete in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments at the level that I would like to. It’s really about just having another year to play in from of Buckeye Nation and all these amazing fans and my family.”

Young isn’t exactly sure how he’ll fit into Ohio State’s plans next season, especially with fellow forward E.J. Liddell testing the NBA waters and the Buckeyes adding former Butler and Indiana center Joey Brunk through the transfer portal. He’s just thankful for the extra year and the opportunity to take care of some unfinished business.

“At the end of the day, I’m happy with my decision because of how much I love this place, how much I love my teammates and my coaches, and I’m close to my family, as well,” Young said. “Those are all the things that definitely weighed into it. I’m happy with the decision I made.”

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