When Niagara senior Alvin Young was a freshman at Bishop Loughlin, he was cut from the basketball team. When he tried out as a sophomore, he was cut again. The same thing happened as a junior and when he was a senior, he again failed to make the team.

Usually, a player takes that failure as a sign to try something else. Not Young.

Instead, the 6-foot-3 Brooklyn native took his game to the next best arena, the playgrounds of New York City.

“Every year, I tried out I thought, ‘This will be the year,’ but it never was,” Young said before the Purple Eagles (6-5) left to play St. John’s tonight. “Some people would be discouraged and give up, but I decided to work harder. Life is about turning negatives into positives.”

And seldom has a solid work ethic paid off so handsomely. The former high-school failure is now a star guard at Niagara, a Division I program that plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with schools like Iona and Manhattan.

“I thought if I ever got the opportunity, I would flourish,” Young said. “And that’s what’s happened.”

Rarely, however, has an opportunity been so hard to come by. He honed his skills playing in tournaments with the likes of Anthony Mason and Vin Baker. And despite the skills he developed, when you don’t play any organized ball in high school, there isn’t much of a chance to play at the next level.

But Young had a stroke of good luck when he found out about a tournament for prospective junior-college players as a senior. Young played well and found his way to Mitchell College in New London, Conn.

“Actually, I just picked Mitchell because I knew it was close,” Young said. “I didn’t think I would like it, so I wanted to be able to just hop on a bus and come home.”

That didn’t happen. Young excelled as a freshman, averaging 29.6 points per game. The next season, he came back to average 28.9 ppg and was suddenly a Division I prospect.

After contemplating going to the College of Charleston, Young chose Niagara because he knew he would play right away.

“I had to get minutes, because I wasn’t a freshman and I didn’t have time to sit on the bench,” Young said. “I just wanted to get a chance.”

He got one and ran with it, leading Niagara with 15.7 ppg last year. This season, he has gotten even better, again topping the Purple Eagles with a 23.3 average. When a player waits as long as Young did, it’s no surprise he quickly made his mark.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with as much passion for the game as Alvin has,” first-year Niagara coach Joe Mihalich said. “As a coach, you always have to struggle with the ‘entitlement issue.’ Kids come in and they get all these great things and they complain. Alvin knows how fortunate he is.”

Young even understands the benefits of not having played in high school.

“I think [being cut] was a blessing in disguise. I wasn’t one of those hyped-up guys coming out of New York City,” Young said. “Sometimes, players get overcoached and become like robots. That doesn’t happen on the playground. You have to play hard enough to win. Otherwise, you lose the court and you don’t play. I know my career could end at any time, so I play like that.”

And that competitive spirit has shone through at Niagara.

“He’s just got a feel for the game,” Mihalich said. “Every day he gets better. He scored 31 points [Saturday in Niagara’s 94-85 win over Siena]. He was upset that he didn’t do more.”

Young will have to do that much tonight when the Purple Eagles take on St. John’s at Alumni Hall. Last year, he netted 26 points in Niagara’s shocking 86-63 upset in the ECAC Holiday Festival at the Garden.

“I was definitely motivated to be playing in front of everyone I knew and people who didn’t think I would make it,” Young said. “That was the biggest dream come true for me.”

It was also a thrill for Young to play in front of his mother, Edna, and he was looking forward to doing it again this year. But Edna passed away in September.

“I owe so much of what I have to her. She always told me I would make it big and I thought, ‘Mom, you’re crazy,'” Young said. “I wish she could be here to see it, but I know she’s looking down at me and is proud.”

And Young probably hasn’t peaked yet. In fact, Mihalich thinks he can play professionally.

“He’ll be making money somewhere next year,” Mihalich said. “He’s got an inner desire that makes you know he’ll succeed.”