ESPN RISE

BELTSVILLE, Md. -- After a solid junior season at Friendship Academy (D.C.), Brandon Young has shown more improvement and impressed coaches with his play during The Rock Summer League at High Point High School.

The 6-foot-4 Young plays point guard for the Knights and has helped lead the team to a successful summer league record against top D.C. area private school and public school competition.

"He is very talented and he plays with a lot of poise. He is a smart player, has good size for a point [guard] and he looks like a potential big-time guy," said a D.C. area private school head coach who requested anonymity. "He can definitely play at the D-I level."

Young has the size, jump shot, versatility and skills to play either guard position, but he made it clear in his interview with ESPNRise.com that he wants to be a point guard at the college level.

"The colleges that are recruiting me are recruiting me as a point guard," Young said. "I am working on my ball handling, my passing. … I want to develop into a real leader on the floor and be a pure point guard."

Last season, Young averaged 14 points, six assists and six rebounds, helping Friendship Academy to a 31-5 record.

"Brandon has very good size for a point guard, he sees the floor well and he makes very good decisions," Friendship Academy head coach Clinton Crouch said. "Brandon is what I call a stat stuffer -- he just fills up the statistics sheet."

"He is a winner and a leader," Crouch added. "If he keeps working hard he can definitely be a big time Division I point guard."

Young, who plays AAU ball with D.C.-based power Team Takeover, said he is wide open in terms of where he might go to college, though he lists Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia, Maryland, Georgetown and UMass as schools that he likes.

Young has a connection to Missouri.

Kimmie English, Young's cousin and former teammate at Randallstown High School (Baltimore, Md.), is a sophomore guard for the Tigers.

At this point in his recruiting, Young is mostly hearing from mid-Division I colleges, but his reputation and visibility are growing.

Young lived in Baltimore and played at Randallstown in 2007-2008, but moved to D.C. to live with Crouch before his junior season.

"I wanted to get more exposure and better basketball competition and I think that Friendship has given me that," Young said of the transfer. "Randallstown has a great tradition and has great players and coaches and I played on a real nice team there, but I think this has been a great move. I also wanted to make sure my academics were straight and in order and I've gotten that here at Friendship."

Though Young is not yet a household name in the D.C. area, he could emerge as one of the most heavily recruited seniors in the Metro area for the Class of 2010.

James Quinn covers high school basketball for MDVarsity.com