What we know as ex-BU basketball player Michelle Young decides on 'The Bachelorette'
His first impression might leave Nayte Olukoya as the last man standing in Michelle Young's search for a potential husband.
Young, the former Bradley University basketball player, is to make her final decision Tuesday night on ABC as star of "The Bachelorette." From a roster of 30 men, the field is down to its last two.
The finale of the current season of the long-running reality-television show is to air at 7 p.m. in the Peoria area on Heart of Illinois ABC.
"The Bachelorette" season is the second time this year Young has been a primary reality-TV figure. A 28-year-old schoolteacher from suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Young was a finalist in the most recent season of "The Bachelor."
When Young's "Bachelorette" episodes premiered in October, she awarded her first-impression rose to Olukoya. But making a favorable-enough later impression is the other finalist, Brandon Jones.
Who is Nayte Olukoya?
Olukoya, 27, is a sales executive who resides in Austin, Texas. But he's Canadian — from Winnipeg, Manitoba, originally.
Even though Olukoya is 6-foot-8, basketball doesn't appear to be a big part of his past, according to his ABC biography. That would be unlike Young. She played from 2011-15 at Bradley and was the Braves' leading scorer her senior season on the Hilltop.
Olukoya graduated in 2019 from Eastern Washington University, where he received a degree in business administration.
More: 'Bachelorette' doesn't stop ex-Bradley athlete Michelle Young from going back to school
Who is Brandon Jones?
Jones might appear to be a better match for Young, at least on the surface. His ABC bio states he's a self-proclaimed basketball fiend, although it lacks specifics.
The 26-year-old is familiar with traveling of a non-basketball sort. Based in Portland, Oregon, he recruits traveling nurses. He graduated in 2017 with a business-administration degree from Western Oregon University.
As another claim to fame, Jones listed jumping onstage during a Lil Wayne and Drake concert. This didn't happen during Lil Wayne's appearance in 2015 at Crusens in West Peoria.
A Minnesota Mr. Basketball came up short
Jones and Olukoya survived the penultimate cut last week. That's when Young bid adieu to a third finalist, fellow Minnesotan Joe Coleman.
After they spent weeks in the Gopher State, Young and the three finalists decamped to Mexico. There, Young had overnight dates with each man.
Coleman seemed compatible with Young, who was a high school basketball standout in the Twin Cities area. Coleman was 2011 Mr. Basketball in Minnesota as a high school senior. He played in college at the University of Minnesota.
More: Ex-Bradley athlete Michelle Young didn't win 'The Bachelor,' but her consolation prize isn't bad
Earlier in the "Bachelorette" season, Coleman and Young played one-on-one — on the basketball court. But in the end, Coleman didn't have enough game, apparently.
"You understand a certain side of me that nobody understands," Young told him on last week's episode, according to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "You have a piece of my heart. And I think you always will.
"It's just ... I can't be your person."
Afterward, Coleman cried.
How might this 'Bachelorette' season end? (SPOILERS AHEAD)
Young has been a toast of the Twin Cities in the aftermath of "Bachelorette" filming. She's attended games of the area's various professional-sports teams, among other venues.
But it hasn't been noted if possible romantic partners have accompanied her. That hasn't stopped leaks regarding the winner.
Reputable "Bachelor"-suite observer Reality Steve — well, as reputable an observer as possible — has reported repeatedly that Young chose Olukoya. Reality Steve also has reported the two are engaged to be married.
On Tuesday night, "Bachelorette" nation will see if Reality Steve's sources are of Woodward-Bernstein quality.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: The Bachelorette: Michelle Young to select winner Tuesday
