Hawks' Young has a ball hosting his first camp in Atlanta

ATLANTA -- After a historic rookie campaign, Trae Young has been out and about this off-season. He's been seen playing in the Drew League, taking part in private workouts in New York City with other notable NBA players, won runner-up for Rookie of The Year and hosted several basketball camps including his first in Atlanta.

"This is my third camp," Young said to reporters at the camp. "My first one here in Atlanta. It's still surreal to me, walking around and seeing all these kids excited for me to be here."

He's always someone who has been willing to interact with the fans and make an impact on kids. At just 20 years old, he was just a little kid not too long ago. He remembers going to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul's camps and just having fun, which is what it's all about for these kids in his eyes. "Anytime I have the opportunity to impact a little kid I do so," he said. "It's great being here in Atlanta especially doing it." During the busy off-season, Young has been spending a lot of time in the gym getting not only better, but also stronger. After the All-Star break, he averaged an outstanding 24.7 points and 9.2 assists per game. He'd love to pick up right where he left off. However, a lot of his personal goals are more team-oriented. "There's a lot of goals that I have," Young said. "Mainly, they're all team goals, because I know I mean for me, I just want to focus on winning, things like that, and everything else will fall in line."

While winning is the main goal, there are still things he knows he can do to become better, which will help the team.

"If I play well, if I don't turn the ball over as much, if I'm more cerebral and just I mean the way I basically ended the season... if I play that way to start it off, I think I'll be able to help my team," Young said.

Some believe this Hawks team, which who won 29 games last season, can compete for the playoffs next season. However, there is still an even-higher expectation from within the team than from the general public.

"I know a lot of people expect us to be a lot better next year," Young said. "Still, I think our expectations and our goals are higher than most."

Even though he averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game last season and was second in the NBA in total assists, he is still treating this offseason like it's the pre-draft process.

"I've been training basically like it's pre-draft," Young said. "Been training super hard in the weight room, trying to get stronger, trying to get bigger, faster."