Exclusive: Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young talked to the Irish star about their roots and the shared time of Notre Dame and the time in South Bend before forming in the Vegas Aes
Long before Jewell Loyd And Jackie Young joined the Las Vegas Aces this season, the players of the Estrella Perimeter shone in Our lady – A university that has been called “Guard U.”
For three years decorated in South Bend, Loyd had an average of 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists while promoting Irish fighting in three consecutive Ncaa Final four appearances. The AP All-American AP was also named the 2015 player, as well as the Big East Rookie of the year 2013.
Young achieved a similar success at a collegiate level, bringing Notre Dame to the 2018 NCAA Championship and the runner -up ended the following season. Princeton, an Indiana native, also helped secure two ACC titles for the Irish struggle, including in 2019, during which MVP was crowned in the competition.
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Although Loyd and Young were never overcome by Notre Dame, the first had an unmistakable impact on the latter’s party.
Throughout its recruiting process, Young made frequent trips to the Purcell Pavilion for Notre Dame camps and games. It was there that roads with Loyd and Skylar Diggins crossed, two players who would soon strive to reflect their game later.
“We call Notre Dame Guard u, so there are many guards who have passed there,” said Young Irish star sports. “Whenever he was recruited, Jewell was there, Skylar was there, so he was always up to the Games, going to the camps.
“Obviously, I looked to Jewell, he was a great player at the University, still a great player in the league, and it is fun to have it by our side.”
As an eligible junior for drafts in 2019, Young sought Loyd’s advice before making a monumental career decision. Four years earlier, he chose to enter the Wnba Draft instead of returning to Notre Dame for a last year.
“It was actually one of the people I talked about during my process to try to decide if I would stay in college a year or would go out a year before,” Young said about Loyd. “Obviously, we ended the same story.”
The two remained friendly as they regularly confronted each other on the WNBA, but it wasn’t until they played together at the Olympic Games that their friendship really flourished.
“We kept in touch over the years, and obviously with Team USA we started closer to us,” said Young. “Now that we are teammates, yes, we are forming this friendship.”
In one of their first games together at ACES, Loyd and Young returned to their roots as they played a WNBA exhibition game in the Purcell Pavilion earlier this month. Las vegas He did a quick work of Dallas’s wings and his notre Dame’s partner, Arike Ogunbowale, who won a 112-78 victory.
For Loyd, he got to meet with Young and several U.S. teammates of the ACES helped relieve the transition from Seattle, where he spent 10 seasons with the storm, in Las Vegas.
“I’m very close to Jackie and Chelsea [Gray] and a’ja [Wilson]. Obviously we played together [Team] US too, “said Loyd.” So knowing that you will come to a place where you really know some of the players on the court help a little. But yes, Jackie, it’s good. “”