Young expresses interest in returning to men's hoops if Pitino can pull strings

You may not have seen him, but he was there. Shirking the spotlight, he remained hidden in the background, feeling out what it would be like to be back playing for his former team. Yesterday, he made it official. Chris Young is back.

"I looked at what Mario Lemieux is doing and I thought, 'Heck, I'm only 21, in my prime, I can make a comeback,' " Young said in a press conference on MSNBC. "All the great athletes have done it: Lemieux, Michael Jordan, Fernando Valenzuela. Now it's my turn."

For all freshmen, he's new; for everyone else, he's a dream come true. Young looks to resurrect an ailing men's basketball program that has gone 6-7 thus far into its schedule, though 2-0 in the Ivy League.

In order to become eligible for Ivy play and make the comeback, Young was forced to breach his contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But the junior has no reservations about giving up the lucrative signing bonus.

"I'm only going to be gone for one or two years, which will give the Pirates some time to think about just how much they want me," Young said. "J.D. Drew held out for the big contract, and so will I; I'm looking for Manny money when I return. Besides, if I don't end up pitching, I can always go into the NBA and then maybe politics."

There is also, of course, the matter of the Ivy League, which could still frown upon the notion of an individual playing collegiate basketball after having officially been a professional in another sport previously.

"No worries here, I'll take care of everything," said Rick Pitino, who is expected to be named Princeton's head coach today. "I never met a rule that couldn't be circumvented and if these stuffy folks around here can't handle it, we'll just leave the Ivy League."

Indeed, Young attributed his decision mostly to the rumors of Pitino's imminent arrival.

"Coach Pitino has shown a remarkable loyalty to institutions over the years," Young said. "If things don't go well, you know he's not going to just get up and quit. He's a fighter."

"[Former head coach Bill] Carmody, [Spencer] Gloger and I were all out at Cap drinking one night last spring and I jokingly mentioned how funny it would be if we all left for this season," Young said. "I signed my contract and they just fell in line. I feel bad that it got so out of hand. Now coach Thompson is leaving, too?"

Senior center Nate Walton — who will lose his starting position to the returning All-Ivy player — welcomed an extra body that will take pressure off his injured ankle.

"I was so excited, I immediately handed the captainship back to its rightful owner," Walton said. "Jordan went to baseball in the middle of his career before making a historical return; Chris is here to do the same."