Catching Up With Ariel Young
8/1/2018 10:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Features
Freshman Ariel Young was the first person of the five-member freshman class to commit last summer before even taking a visit to Michigan. She talks about the adjustments she has made to college life, growing up in a basketball family and how the returners have been helping everyone this summer.
Q: How has your time at Michigan been so far?
A: It's been great and a lot of fun. My classes have been great, my teammates are great and workouts have been great. Overall, Michigan is a nice fit for me.
A: I am taking Earth and the CSP class this summer. They both have been fun, but a little more work than I am used to. In high school, I always felt like you get assignments and you can work ahead. In college, it is a little harder to get ahead. You have to really focus on getting each assignment just done.
Q: How has it been being on your own without your family and parents around?
A: I have to wake up on my own, make my own breakfast and make sure I get all my homework done. I have to be on top of things. I can't depend on my mom or anyone else to make sure everything gets done.Â
Q: Do you like that?
A: Yeah, I kind of do like it. Sometimes I do miss my mom waking me up every morning. That is better than waking up to my phone.
Q: You come from a huge basketball family, with your mom and dad both heavily involved with the game. What was that like?
A: I was always around basketball. My dad is a coach who is always going through film and plays with me. He always had a breakdown of my game whenever he was there. They gave me a lot of advice and skills that a lot of other people don't grow up with. I grew up with my mom, who told me what I need to do and what I don't need to do during a game. I had my dad coaching me. I had so much support basketball-wise, learning things at a very young age.
Q: You were the first one of this five-member freshman class to commit and you did it without even coming on a visit here. How did that come about?
A: I had a relationship with all the coaches and a really strong bond with Coach Mel (Moore). I had a really strong relationship with her and hearing her talk about the program and Michigan; that was amazing. They had a plan for me and my game from day one. Michigan just stood out from that aspect. I knew it was the place for me. It was a gut feeling.
Q: What do you think of head coach Kim Barnes Arico?
A: I love Coach! She is so bubbly and outgoing. In practice, she gets a lot more serious but I expected that. I love her so much.
Q: What are you working on in terms of your game right now?
A: I am working on my pull-ups, extending my range and finishing around the basket. I am working on speeding up my shot and my speed overall because everything is so much faster. In practice, the pace they want us to go is so much faster than high school. I expected it to be like that, but being here and actually experiencing it is a lot different.
Q: Do you have any idea what you would like to study or go into after your basketball career is over?
A: I definitely want to be in the medical field somehow. I haven't decided what occupation specifically yet, but just in the medical field. I think that is my true calling.
Q: There are six newcomers this year and five of you are here right now. How have the returners helped you guys get used to everything?
A: They have definitely been helping us out. They help us get to our classes, make sure we know our schedule, let us know how the workouts are going to be and give us advice before we get there. They have let us know the rundown of what their freshman year was like, from classes to practice. They have definitely been helpful and it has been nice being here this summer.
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