[The following scouting report is part of a series on potential 2025 draft prospects from Sports Business Classroom alumni.]

Chris Youngblood
Frame: 6’4″, 223 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Alabama Crimson Tide
2025 Draft Age: 23
Stats via Basketball Reference and Synergy Sports

Offense

After winning the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year at South Florida, Youngblood transferred to Alabama, where he is contributing as a secondary scorer and shotmaker. He is currently averaging 9.6 points per game on 67.9 percent from two-point range and 35.6 percent from three-point range. He has a quick release from the perimeter and will look for his shot, but Youngblood knows his role in the offense. 

Youngblood spaces the floor well and doesn’t clog up the paint. He can knock down threes off of screens and will run in transition. While he got to spots in the mid-range at South Florida, Youngblood hasn’t attempted one with Alabama. 

He’s not the most athletic player and doesn’t have significant length on his stockier frame. However, he can use his thicker build to bump off defenders on drives, use some hesitation moves to slow defenders down and finish with both hands at the rim. 

With his role shifting to secondary playmaker, his assist-to-turnover ratio has dropped from 1.56 to .80, as well as his usage percentage (23.7 percent to 17.3 percent). He is not a player who will facilitate for others regularly (averaging 1.0 assist per game), but he can make the right reads and execute the extra pass for his teammate to get an open look. He hasn’t shown he can be a sufficient ball handler at the pro level, as Youngblood typically serves as an off-the-ball wing, looking to get open looks or cuts within the flow of the offense. When the ball is in his hands, high IQ defenders with quick hands can create deflections and cause turnovers, or he can get outmuscled on double teams and lose control.

 

Defense

Youngblood isn’t a talented defender, but he is willing to play team defense and contest the perimeter on that side of the ball. He has shown an above-average defensive IQ and can create some deflections and steals (15 steals, 4th on Alabama). He tends to get stuck when he is screened against and doesn’t hedge hard enough, allowing the ball handler to get open looks.

Youngblood has shown to be a little slow laterally, which quicker guards expose when driving into the paint. He can hold his own when going up against bigger players, but skilled bigs spin off of him and get looks at the rim. Youngblood isn’t foul-prone, but he does get a little too handsy, specifically off of rebounds he gets beat on. He does crash the glass but doesn’t gather a ton of boards despite his thick frame.  

Looking Forward

Youngblood’s build and style of play are similar to that of Dillon Brooks or PJ Washington. Neither are fantastic ball handlers, but they are capable outside shooters, know their roles on the offensive end, and can use their larger frames to get to their spots in the paint. Youngblood’s ability to hit shots from the outside will play a significant factor for him professionally, but it isn’t easy to position him. He’s too slow to be a guard and not big enough to play the forward position regularly. He communicates on the defensive end and shows effort as a team defender, but his lack of quickness and explosiveness might become a liability at the NBA level. Despite his weaknesses, Youngblood could find a fit in the G League and polish his shooter and individual defender skills.