The New Orleans Pelicans have signed one of their standouts from summer league play, center Patric Young, to a two-year contract, according to Adam Silverstein of Only Gators.
I just learned that Florida #Gators C Patric Young has officially signed a two-year deal with the New Orleans #Pelicans.
— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) July 19, 2014
Young went undrafted out of the University of Florida this year and signed with the Pelicans summer league team. He averaged 7.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in five appearances.
Young confirmed the news on Twitter.
It's a blessing to announce that I signed a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. Thank you to everyone that supported me!!!
— Patric Young (@PatricYoung4) July 19, 2014
Young was a leader on a Gators team that was the best in college basketball for much of the past season. He averaged 11.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in his final season at Florida, proving himself to be an excellent offensive rebounder and a very capable defender.
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Young heads to a Pelicans team that already has some well-established bigs such as Anthony Davis, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson, so playing time will be a concern from him.
However, based on recent interview with Only Gator, Young seems to be very happy to be on the Pelicans.
"“It feels good going to a situation with a team that really wanted me but couldn’t get me instead of a team that would get me on the team just to have me on the team and see what I could do,” Young wrote in his exclusive OnlyGators.com Path to the Draft blog about joining the Pelicans for Summer League action. “The general manager, Dell Demps, called me and said he’s really excited for me to be here. He wants me to play defense and rebound in Summer League and everything else will work out. I was excited to hear from him, especially with him saying those things. This definitely feels like the best scenario for me right now.”"
Young was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014.