One of the toughest, hard-nosed forwards on the west coast came off the board today as Solomon Young gave a verbal commitment to Steve Prohm and his Iowa State program. While he was underrated a bit by those within his region, the Cyclones may have found themselves a giant sleeper and a glue-forward over the next four years in Ames, Iowa.

While schools like Washington, Arizona State, Rice, Texas, and San Francisco showed a variety of interest, it was the relationship that Young had with one of the assistants on staff that paid giant dividends for the Sacramento High product. “Knowing that Coach Prohm came from Murray State and made it to the tournament and TJ (Otzelberger) was at Washington before, he really knows and believes in my game.”

Although he isn’t the most skilled of guys around, Young prides himself on his energy levels in the lane, rebounding abilities in traffic, and willingness to do whatever it takes for his squad. With that in mind, the senior big man spoke on what he will bring to the Big 12 program. “Just being a versatile 3-4 type and one of the most tough nosed and hardest working players on the team.”

The sell from the Prohm and his staff to Young was hard to deny as Young seems to be getting what he wanted when he set out on selecting the right home at the next level. “They said they are losing their starting seniors so I will have a great chance to get a lot of minutes as a freshman.”

Look for Young to step in immediately in Ames next season and provide energy and contributions upfront and it would seem that Steve Prohm’s first full class looks to have started out on a good note in bringing in a native of California to Iowa State.