Young message: Size doesn’t matter

Over-the-top praise for Trae Young was followed by biting criticism. There were Steph Curry comparisons and bust talk. He was story of college basketball over the season’s first few months, but limped to the finish line as his shot percentages plummeted and the losses piled up.

The dynamic and undersized point guard from Oklahoma, expected to get selected in the top third of Thursday’s NBA draft, has heard it all. The last year of his life has been a whirlwind, an extreme mixture of high and lows that will reach a crescendo in a few days.

“This is a position I dreamed about being in,” he said at the Grand Hyatt in Midtown on Wednesday.

He insisted the criticism of his size, strength and defensive issues doesn’t bother him. He brought the defensive questions upon himself, by “the way I played this year.” It merely motivated him to address the holes in his game.

He’s put on 14 pounds since March, and has worked to be a more committed defender. There is, however, nothing he can do about his 6-foot-2 frame. Of course, that question isn’t necessarily new.

“That’s always been the thing, from high school to college: ‘He wasn’t big enough to play at this level,’ and I’m getting it now,” said Young, who worked out for just five teams — the Knicks, Cavaliers, Hawks, Bulls and Magic — his four most likely destinations in no certain order. “That’s just going to be the narrative, and that’s what people are going to think and assume, and my job is to make that not a problem. That’s why I work so hard every day, to make sure that’s not an issue.”