Star Shooting Guard Joseph Young Coming Back For Senior Year at Oregon

Oregon's leading scorer and star shooting guard Joseph Young announced via Twitter this morning that he will return for his senior season:

Great talk w/ the fam. Decided the best thing for me is to get my Degree and play my last year as an Oregon Duck #1moreyear #Ducknation

— joeyoung (@joeyFlapps3) April 8, 2014

In his first year with the Ducks after transferring from the University of Houston, Young set a Matthew Knight Arena record by scoring 36 points in his first home game, and ended up fifth on Oregon's all-time scoring list with 643 points on the season. His return means that Oregon's back court will once again be one of the best in the nation, despite the losses of Johnathan Loyd and Jason Calliste to graduation.

One has to wonder if Young will get a chance to play more point guard, especially if Dominic Artis can't regain his freshman form. A prolific scorer, Young is undersized to play two-guard in the NBA. He was not projected to be drafted in either the first or second round of this year's draft but his prospects could improve if he can learn to run the point.

Regardless, Oregon will once again have a wealth of options in their back court with returning starters Damyean Dotson and Young, along with third-year point guard Dominic Artis and incoming freshmen JaQuan Lyle and Casey Benson. Providence transfer Brandon Austin and JUCO transfer Dwayne Benjamin can also play guard or forward, giving Oregon a lot of lineup versatility next year.

Young's return leaves Oregon with 14 scholarship players but only 13 available scholarships, meaning someone else currently on the roster will not be here next season. Oregon is projected to be a preseason top 25 team next year by most media outlets.