Thomas Joseph Young (September 17, 1932 – March 20, 2022) was an American

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 ...

coach. He coached at American University,

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, Catholic University and

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

Early life and education

Born in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, Young attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, where he played on the

basketball team 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 ...

, graduating in 1958. Young interrupted his college career for a 19-month tour of duty in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

after the 1952–53 season. In 2003, the

University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland. The Hall of Fa ...

inducted him into its ranks.

Coaching career

After graduating from Maryland in 1958, Young became head coach at the Catholic University of America. In nine seasons, Young went 134–88 at Catholic.Search under coach for Tom Young a
NCAA Career Statistics
/ref> From 1967 to 1969, Young was an assistant coach at his alma mater Maryland. Young then was head coach at American University from 1969 to 1973 and

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

from 1973 to 1985. At Rutgers, Young's 1976 Scarlet Knights had an undefeated regular season record and advanced to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Final Four. Young also served as an assistant coach for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

of the National Basketball Association under Head Coach

Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship ...

, who was the starting point guard on the 1976 Rutgers team. Under Young's tutelage, Phil Sellers, James Bailey, and Jordan evolved into All-Americans and went on to play in the NBA. From 1985 to 1991, Young was head coach at

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

. He led Old Dominion to the 1986 NCAA tournament in his first season, but this would be one of just two postseason tournaments in his six-year tenure. Old Dominion fired Young on March 7, 1991. Two months earlier, Old Dominion suspended Young two games for an incident caught on camera where Young and several Old Dominion players chased a

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

player towards the locker room after a 77–74 loss to Western Kentucky. After leaving Old Dominion in 1991, Young became a television analyst for Atlantic 10 Conference broadcasts. On June 25, 2003,

head coach Eddie Jordan added Young to his coaching staff. After four seasons with the Wizards, Young retired from coaching on June 13, 2007.

Early life and education

Coaching career

Death

Head coaching record

See also

References

Further reading