Samuel David Young (born June 1, 1985) is an American/Lebanese former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Homenetmen Beirut of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

and the

Lebanese National Basketball Team The Lebanon men's national basketball team (; french: Équipe du Liban de basket-ball), controlled by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB), has represented Lebanon in basketball since its inception in 1947. The squad is governed by FIBA, and ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

Early years

The eldest of five children, Young was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to single mother Marquet Craig, then 14 years old. She supported her family by working as a cable TV installer for Comcast, and moved the family nine times. By the time Young was in high school, the family had found its way to Prince George's County, Maryland. At Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Young led the Patriots to Maryland state titles in 2003 and 2004, averaging 24.6 points, 14.0 rebounds, and six blocked shots per game as a senior. After graduating from high school, Young attended

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

for a year as his high school grades meant that he would have to spend a year at a prep school in order to qualify for a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

. He averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds for a team that went 28–1 and was ranked second nationally among prep school programs. The basketball recruiting site ''Scout.com'' named Young its National Prep School Player of the Year for 2005. He also received the recruiting attention he had largely missed out on in high school, receiving offers from programs such as

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Georgetown,

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

, and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. He would decide to sign with Pitt; Joe Lombardi, then a Pitt assistant and now head coach at

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...

, speculated that Young chose Pitt because " were there when a whole lot of other people weren't around. He just wanted someone to give him some love." Considered a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Young was listed as the No. 17 small forward and the No. 71 player in the nation in 2005.

College career

Young joined the Pitt basketball team for the 2005–2006 season. He initially chafed at his role on the team; he wanted to display his perimeter skills, but head coach

Jamie Dixon James Patrick Dixon II (born November 10, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsbu ...

wanted him to play on the inside. Young nearly transferred to

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

after his sophomore year of 2006–07, but when the Wildcats' coach

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...

left for

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

after that season, Dixon convinced Young to stay, indicating that he would have a much bigger role on the team in the upcoming season. Dixon's prediction was borne out that season; Young averaged 18 points per game, was named the 2008 Big East tournament MVP after scoring 80 points in the tournament, and was also named the conference's most improved player. In his senior season at Pitt, Young averaged 19.2 points per game, and was given the honor of being a Third Team All-America. His 2009 NBA draft stock also increased after his spectacular performance in the 2009 NCAA Tournament in which he averaged 23.5 points in four games. He also received accolades from his opposition;

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

coach

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

, who saw Young score 56 points in two games against his team in Young's senior season, including 31 on Pitt's 2009 Senior Day, said, "There hasn't ever been a player who gives us as many problems as he does."

The Basketball Tournament

Sam Young played for Team ATL AllStars in the

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edition of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 20 ...

. He had a team-high 29 points and nine rebounds in the team's first-round loss to Louisiana United.

College statistics

College awards

* AP Third-team All-American ( 2009) * Sporting News Third-team All-American ( 2009) * AP All-American Honorable Mention (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

) * 2× First-team All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

(2008, 2009) * Big East tournament Most Valuable Player (

)

Professional career

Young was drafted by the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

with the 36th overall pick in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other e ...

. On March 15, 2012, Young was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to Ricky Sánchez. On September 6, 2012, Young signed with the Indiana Pacers. On January 6, 2013, he was waived by the Pacers but was later re-signed on January 28, 2013. On September 30, 2013, Young signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. However, he was later waived by the Spurs on October 10, 2013. On November 18, 2013, Young signed with the Sydney Kings for the rest of the

2013–14 NBL season The 2013–14 NBL season was the 36th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 10 October 2013 and 23 March 2014, and was followed by a post-season f ...

. On February 4, 2014, Young was named the Player of the Month for January. In 21 games for the Kings, Young averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game. On January 19, 2014, Young signed with

Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the L ...

of Puerto Rico for the 2014 BSN season. On July 22, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with

Juvecaserta Basket Sporting Club JuveCaserta (sometimes spelled Juve Caserta), also known as Decò Caserta after its title sponsor, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Caserta, Campania. The team currently plays in the Serie A2, the second tier of Ita ...

of Italy. On December 31, 2014, he parted ways with Juvecaserta. On January 14, 2015, he signed with Mexican team

Halcones de Xalapa Halcones de Xalapa is a basketball club based in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico that plays in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The l ...

. On April 8, he signed with Muratbey Uşak Sportif of the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

. On September 21, 2017, Young signed with Homenetmen Beirut of the

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NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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Playoffs

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Personal life

Scott Cacciola of ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, als ...

'', the daily newspaper of the Grizzlies' home city of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, wrote: Young's work ethic borders on the obsessive. While at Pitt, he practiced so much on his own that the coaching staff worried about his knees, and he would regularly play pick-up games at lunchtime during the season. During the summer before his senior year at Pitt, he went so far as to live for a month in a locker room at Pitt's home arena, the Petersen Events Center, sleeping on an air mattress he had carried to the locker room, so he could work out and practice whenever he chose. Young himself admitted that basketball was his "love" and his girlfriend was his "mistress", adding, "And she knows that." One of Young's closest friends, former high school teammate and later South Florida player Chris Howard, noted that Young's work ethic was present long before he came to Pitt: He also found inspiration in his family. During his year at Hargrave, he put a poster in his dorm room that read "I can't let my mother work harder than I do." He also drew from his brother Michael Spriggs, who was born with

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

s and

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

and completely lost his sight at age 13, but nonetheless reached the state championships in

high school wrestling Scholastic wrestling, also known in the United States as folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practiced at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially collegiate wrestling wi ...

and won a gold medal in

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

at an international blind sports competition. Young said about his brother, "It could have been me. And I know if he had my opportunities, he'd be doing something constructive with them." Young's athleticism is not limited to basketball. Before his senior year at Friendly High, he promised to do backflips if the Patriots won the state title, and proceeded to do exactly that. He also reportedly stunned Pitt's

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

coach one day by climbing up to the 7½-meter board and performing a nearly perfect 2½ somersault into the pool. He also writes

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

; he has spoken with a publisher about compiling his works, and read some of his poems at an open-mic night at a Pittsburgh coffeehouse in 2008. He is also a skilled piano player.

References

External links

* *
Pittsburgh Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Sam 1985 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American expatriate basketball people in the United Arab Emirates American men's basketball players Basketball players from Maryland Big3 players Halcones de Xalapa players Hargrave Military Academy alumni Indiana Pacers players Juvecaserta Basket players Memphis Grizzlies draft picks Memphis Grizzlies players People from Fort Washington, Maryland Philadelphia 76ers players Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Sydney Kings players Uşak Sportif players American men's 3x3 basketball players