Aug. 25, 1999

LEXINGTON, Kty. — Nikki Young, a 5-7 standout guard from Paul G. Blazer HighSchool in Ashland, will walk-on the women’s basketball team at theUniversity of Kentucky announced Coach Bernadette Mattox today.

Young, who averaged 16 points and seven rebounds as a senior atPaul Blazer, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Kentucky-OhioAll-Star game, scoring 17 points and dishing out seven assists inKentucky’s 83-75 win.

Young tallied 1,412 points, 503 assists and 334 steals during herfour-year career at Paul Blazer HS, leading her squad in assists andsteals all four years. She was also named All-Region and All-Districtthroughout her prep career.

“Nikki is a very emotional type of player, ” UK Coach BernadetteMattox said. “She is an extremely hard worker and she brings so muchenergy to the game. She is also a great competitor and I know she willgive everything she has in practice on a daily basis.”

Young is best known around the commonwealth for her defensiveskills. She was voted Best Defensive Player in the 16th region lastyear and was also named Best Defensive Player of the Queen of theBluegrass Tour in 1999. Finding the basket wasn’t a problem for the 5-7point guard either. She scored 30-plus points in four games as a seniorand was named MVP of the 16th Region as a sophomore. She was alsoelected to the AKIT Invitational All-Tournament team in 1998 and 1999.

Also a four-year member of the cross country team, Young wasnamed second team All-State in 1999 and was All-Area and All-Conferencein track & field and cross country for three straight seasons.