Former Northwestern center Ryan Young transfers to Duke men's basketball

Another day, another addition to Duke's 2022-23 roster.

Redshirt junior and former Northwestern center Ryan Young is headed to Durham, Stadium's Jeff Goodman reported Saturday. After entering the transfer portal March 24, Young reportedly visited Duke's campus Thursday before ultimately deciding to join the Blue Devils.

At 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds with three years of college basketball under his belt, Young adds size and experience to head coach Jon Scheyer's first team and beyond, with two years of eligibility still remaining. The Stewartsville, N.J., native averaged 9.0 points and 4.2 rebounds off the bench for the Wildcats in 2021-22.

Young joins a talented roster ahead of the upcoming season, with the nation's top-ranked recruiting class soon to join forces in Durham. That class features a trio of five-star frontcourt players in Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell, meaning that Young will most likely operate in a bench role for the Blue Devils.

In his time at Northwestern, Young played for former Blue Devil player and assistant coach Chris Collins, adding to a growing tradition of transfer-portal players with Duke ties ending up in Durham. Just days before Young's commitment to the Blue Devils, former Harvard forward Kale Catchings transferred in. His head coach, Tommy Amaker, also played and coached at Duke. 

One offseason earlier, former head coach Mike Krzyzewski landed an all-important commitment from graduate transfer big man Theo John, who spent four years with former Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski—another former Duke player and coach—before joining the Blue Devils. Only time will tell, but Young's new role on Scheyer's debut roster could certainly mirror that of John's on Duke's 2021-22 Final Four team. 

Much like Catchings, Young comes to Duke at a time of great change within the program. Scheyer took over for former head coach Mike Krzyzewski after the latter retired at the end of this past season, and former assistant coach Nolan Smith departed for an equivalent role at Louisville. Scheyer has since filled his staff, with Amile Jefferson and Kentucky's Jai Lucas filling the assistant coach positions and former Elon head coach Mike Schrage joining Duke's staff as special assistant to the head coach.