Anthony Gordon Younger (born April 1, 1980) is an American-Israeli professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. He is currently working as

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

for Ironi Ness Ziona of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. 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 ...

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

before playing professionally in Israel and Hungary. Standing at , he primarily plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

position.

Early life and college career

Younger was born and raised in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. He played

for the

's Badgers, alongside his teammates Eric Campbell and

Mickey Gorka Michael "Mickey" Gorka ( he, מיקי גורקה; born November 15, 1972) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and former professional player. Early life and playing career Gorka was born in Haifa, Israel. He played college basketball for ...

Professional career

In 2002, Younger started his professional career with Maccabi Kiryat Bialik of the

Israeli National League Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

, the second tier league in Israel. He averaged 24.6 points per game, leading his team to the National League Semifinals. In 2008, Younger signed with TF Budapest of the Hungarian Basketball League, where he averaged 13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game in the 2008–09 season. On September 12, 2009, Younger returned to

Barak Netanya Elitzur Ironi Netanya ( he, אליצור עירוני קוסמוס נדל"ן נתניה) is a professional basketball club based in Netanya, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, since its promotion in 2021. History Eli ...

for a second stint, signing a one-year deal. In 2011, Younger returned to Ironi Kiryat Ata for a second stint. He went on to average 19.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range. On August 6, 2012, Younger signed a one-year deal with Hapoel Eilat of the

. On August 12, 2013, Younger signed with

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil ( he, הפועל גלבוע גליל) is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250 ...

for the 2013–14 season. Younger helped Gilboa Galil reach the 2014 Balkan League Finals, where they eventually lost to

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...

. On July 9, 2014, Younger returned to Maccabi Rishon LeZion for a second stint, signing a two-year deal. On February 21, 2015, Younger recorded an Israeli Premier League career-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, in an 81–73 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv. In 39 games played during the 2014-15 season, he averaged 10 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, leading Rishon LeZion to the 2015 Israeli League Semifinals, where they were eliminated by

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

. On June 9, 2016, Younger won the 2016 Israeli League championship title with Rishon LeZion after scoring 10 points in the final against

. On July 28, 2016, Younger signed with

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...

for the 2016–17 season. On August 9, 2017, Younger signed a one-year deal with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

of the

. Younger finished the season as the league three-point field goal percentage leader with 43.6 per game. Younger went on to win the Israeli National League championship title with Be'er Sheva. On November 28, 2018, Younger signed a one-year deal with

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

. On January 25, 2019, Younger parted ways with Haifa to join Elitzur Yavne for the rest of the season. On September 1, 2019, Younger signed with Hapoel Hevel Modi'in for the 2019–20 season.

Personal life

In 2011, Younger converted to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and became an Israeli citizen.

References

External links

RealGM profile

Eurobasket profile

Basket.co.il profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Younger, Tony 1980 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from Hartford, Connecticut Barak Netanya B.C. players Converts to Judaism Elitzur Yavne B.C. players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Hapoel Eilat basketball players Hapoel Gilboa Galil Elyon players Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Hapoel Hevel Modi'in B.C. players Hapoel Holon players Ironi Kiryat Ata players Israeli American Maccabi Givat Shmuel players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Small forwards Spring Hill Badgers men's basketball players