The Story of Korleone Young
Only 41 players ever have gone straight from high school to the NBA and one of Wichita’s very own Korleone Young is among this elite crew that includes Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and more.
Before we dive into an abridged version of the Korleone Young story, if you’d like to learn the full story from Korleone’s own words, I highly recommend his book One & Done.
Growing up in Wichita
Korleone Young was born on December 31, 1978 in Wichita and showed basketball promise from an early age.
He dominated locally including Biddy Ball, middle school, AAU, and high school.
Back in the day, there was a height limit for Biddy and Korleone had to stop playing in 5th grade because he was too tall.
Travel for AAU ball started around 6th grade, but really picked up around 8th grade when he played for a 17U team team in Wichita. This is when Korleone started to make a name for himself not only locally, but nationally as well.
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Korleone went to Robinson Middle School before attending Wichita East where he played for Coach Ron Allen. At the time, East High would compete on the national level and even landed a top 15 ranking in the US (where the nationally ranked teams were primarily prep schools). This is when Wichita really started to pop up on the map as a basketball city.
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From his first game (off the bench) at East high, Korleone made an impact in the Wichita City League. He went on to make the All-State team as a sophomore and junior and was one of the most dominant players the City League has ever seen.
For his senior year, Korleone transferred to Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia to get his test scores and become a qualifier with no questions as well as instill more discipline in his life. He was considering UCONN, Georgetown, and Arkansas for college at the time.
Korleone became a McDonald’s All-American which was Wichita’s first since Greg Dreiling in 1981.
It was there at Hargrave after the McDonald’s All-American game, he declared for the NBA draft. This decision shocked everyone. This was not the intention all along, but the opportunity presented itself and Korleone took it.
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NBA & Professional Career
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Korleone Young was drafted #40 overall in the 1998 NBA Draft, 10 picks into the 2nd round to the Detroit Pistons. At the time, the Pistons had Grant Hill, Joe Dumars, Christian Laettner, Jerry Stackhouse and more.
Korleone scored a total of 13 points in his 15 minutes of playing time in 3 games his rookie season. He competed in practice day in and day out, even giving Grant Hill everything he wanted in practice.
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Had he been drafted to Indiana or Atlanta, it might have been a better fit overall, but alas it just wasn’t the right fit in Detroit.
Following this season, his rights were traded to the 76ers and he was ultimately cut.
Korleone went to Richmond in the IBL (International Basketball League) during 1999-2000. Following this, he played in the CBA (Continental Basketball Assosication) for Rockford Lightning and averaged nearly 20 points.
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After leading the league in blocks and likely being the best player in the CBA, Korleone played in the summer league with the Lakers (think 2001 Lakers 😮) and was cut.
Korleone returned to the CBA at Sioux Falls before leaving early to head over seas where he could make more money.
He continued to make an impact with basketball across the world in Russia and his longest stint in China for several years which was his favorite place to play.
One and Done Rule
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The name Korleone Young is often tied with the now famous “One & Done” rule where athletes must be 1 year out of high school before going to the NBA.
I can remember sitting in my childhood home watching the documentary “Through the Fire” in 2005 where Sebastian Telfair was the last kid to make the jump from high school to the NBA before the rule was put in place.
This rule was instated in 2005 and almost everyone went to college following this rule until recently where other leagues and options, including the NBA G-League, have become increasingly popular. The idea was to protect kids who may not be ready to make the jump to the pros and would benefit from college development.
The whole game has changed with the Name Image Likeness (NIL) allowing college athletes to get paid.
Korleone Young Today
While Korleone didn’t have a long NBA career, he had a great professional career and more importantly, symbolizes the dream of every young athlete in Wichita. The kids should look at him as an inspiration that anyone can truly make it big.
Korleone wants to help the youth. He recently became a Shriner where he wants to combine social skills and basketball to help this kids succeed on multiple levels. Korleone does coaching and drills as well.
If you’re interested in working with him. Shoot him a message on social media.
Wichita Life Podcast
I had the opportunity to sit down with Korleone for over an hour to talk all about his story, his views on NIL, if he would do anything different and much more. Check out the full conversation wherever you listen to podcasts:
or on Youtube:
There are a few other articles or links to learn more about Korleone:
- Grantland Article – 2013
- KSN Interview – 2019
- More highlights:
