Michael Wayne Young (born January 2, 1961) is an American former 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 (appro ...

player. Nicknamed "the Silent Assassin", he had a 12-year playing career spent in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) and overseas. He was most recently the director of basketball operations and performance enhancement at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

College career

Young, a native Houstonian, played basketball at Yates High School and the University of Houston. With the Houston Cougars, he was part of Phi Slama Jama and was twice named to the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

First Team. He played in the 1983 NCAA Final, a loss to the North Carolina State Wolfpack, as well as the 1984 final, a loss to the Georgetown Hoyas.

Professional career

NBA and CBA

Michael Young was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

with the 24th overall pick (1st round) of the 1984 NBA draft. He played in three NBA seasons: 1984–85 with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, 1985–86 with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, and 1989–90 with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. He also played two seasons with the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

's Detroit Spirit, where he was named the CBA's Player of the Year in 1986 after averaging 26 points per game.Bio from uhcougars.com Michael Young profile
, ''uhcougars.cstv.com''

Overseas

Young also played in the Philippines, Spain, Italy, France and Israel. In 1986, he led Manila Beer to the finals of the Philippine Basketball Association Open Conference, losing to the Ginebra San Miguel team led by Billy Ray Bates. Young, however, won Best Import honors over the highly favored Bates. He would return the following year, this time with the Great Taste Coffee Makers, which he led to another runner-up finish to Tanduay Rhum, led by David Thirdkill. While with the French League's

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, he won the 1993 European Club Championship, the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

Post-playing career

Young concluded his playing career in 1998 before returning to the

. He spent one season as an assistant men's basketball coach and five years as Houston's strength and conditioning coach. He then became the director of basketball operations and performance enhancement.

Personal life

Young earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston in 2002. He and his wife, Tina, have five children: Michael Jr., Joe, Mayorca,

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

and Milan Maria. Joe played college basketball for Houston and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and followed his father's footsteps to the NBA in 2015 as a member of the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. His youngest son, Jacob, played at the University of Texas and Rutgers before also transferring to Oregon.

References

External links

*
College and NBA stats from basketballreference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Michael 1961 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basket CRO Lyon players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Houston Boston Celtics draft picks CB Valladolid players Detroit Spirits players Fabriano Basket players Great Taste Coffee Makers players Houston Cougars men's basketball coaches Houston Cougars men's basketball players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Limoges CSP players Los Angeles Clippers players Maccabi Givat Shmuel players Manila Beer Brewmasters players Pallalcesto Amatori Udine players Philadelphia 76ers players Philippine Basketball Association imports Phoenix Suns players Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players Small forwards Viola Reggio Calabria players