BOWLING GREEN — Every so often, the recruiting trail will produce a happy accident — and Bowling Green ended up thrilled to be in the right place at the right time last summer.

The Falcons went to Philadelphia in search of another athletic, multi-skilled forward to wait in the wings behind Philly native Daeqwon Plowden, the current all-conference forward who will be a senior next season.

Bowling Green initially went east to scout Jordan Hall — who stayed home and signed with St. Joseph's — but instead found their answer in one of Bell's high-school teammates. The Falcons spotted Cam Young just as his recruitment took off during the summer of 2019, which led to Young signing with the Falcons despite significant interest elsewhere.

"I was out there to see Jordan, but I fell in love with Cam,” BG coach Michael Huger said. "I was so impressed with the way he played and the intensity he played with. Once I saw him, it was like, 'We gotta have this kid.’”

Young, who hails from New Jersey and played for perennial Philadelphia power Nuemann Goretti High School, parlayed a breakout summer on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit into a well-rounded senior season, during which the Saints won the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Young averaged 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, after which he was named second-team all-state in Pennsylvania's 3A classification.

Interest arrived quickly last summer for Young, who drew 15 offers during a two-week span, including those from Penn State, Delaware, George Mason, and Akron. In the end, however, Young said he felt best about the fit at Bowling Green.

"Honestly, I could tell coach Huger was a very genuine person and he was going to be honest with me," Young said. "It was a spot where I could grow as a person and as a player, and when I went on my visit, it felt like home. That was very important to me."

In addition to potentially being a long-term replacement for Plowden, the Falcons saw plenty of parallels between their two Philadelphia-educated forwards. Both played for the same AAU team, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry's K-Low Elite program, and both were late-bloomers who ended up at BG.

Kyle Sample coached both players, and said both stood out to him for their off-the-charts athleticism.

"I don't think I've had two athletes in my program over the last 18 years like those two guys," Sample said. "Then for them to be three years apart is mind-blowing for me."

Sample said he saw the raw ability in Young — who is 6-foot-6 — as a freshman, and Young began to find his niche before his senior season as a defense-first wing with the potential to play multiple positions.

When the AAU team reconvened, Sample said Young's growth was apparent right away in practice.

"He dominated the first four practices we had for two hours straight," Sample said. "I saw, eventually, that he had the potential to be a mid-major-plus, high-major basketball player — we just had to showcase him the right way and show what he could do.”

Sample said the team began to use Young as a shooting guard, which helped steadily improve his offensive skill.

In addition to his ability to rebound and block shots, Young made 53 shots from 3-point range during the high school season and shot 44 percent from behind the arc.

Where he fits into a Bowling Green team ready to contend next season remains to be seen — but Young hopes to keep his options open to help the Falcons in a variety of roles or positions.

"I think my fit is that you can plug me in anywhere,” Young said. "I can guard one through four, I can shoot the 3, I can get to the basket, play in transition, I play hard, and I play defense. I think it'll be a great fit wherever I play.”

Young is scheduled to join his new teammates later this month at BGSU, which compared him to Plowden from the very beginning.

And like Plowden, both Young and the Falcons are hoping the pairing leads to great things in the future.

"I knew I could play at that level and I could do very well at that level,” Young said. "It just seemed like a really good fit because they're unselfish, they play good defense, they shoot a lot of 3s, they're a gritty, underdog team, and they win, too, which was most important.

“BG just stuck out from the beginning as the great option, and to this day, it's still a great option.”

First Published July 2, 2020, 3:32 p.m.