Young Confirms Choice

USC recruit Nick Young, who opened up his recruitment after receiving his qualifying SAT score last week, will honor the commitment he made last summer and play for the Trojans next season.

Young, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward from Reseda Cleveland High who averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds, said he will hold a news conference Friday to formally announce his decision and sign scholarship papers.

“It’s been my dream school from the start,” said Young, who acknowledged that Coach Henry Bibby’s being mentioned as a possible successor to Phil Jackson with the Lakers gave him pause. “It has a great coaching staff and the team is everything I could ask for.”

After receiving his qualifying score, Young was reportedly offered a scholarship by UCLA and garnered interest from Louisville, Washington, DePaul, Nevada Las Vegas and Connecticut, he said.

“Me being young, I just let myself get out there,” Young said. “There was a lot of pressure, but I just wanted to play in the Pac-10 at USC.”

The Trojans, who lost Bakersfield High center Robert Swift to the NBA draft, where he was a lottery pick at No. 12 by the Seattle Sonics, are still awaiting a test score from Westchester High point guard Gabe Pruitt.