Samuel David Young (born June 1, 1985) 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 for Homenetmen Beirut of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

and the Lebanese National Basketball Team. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Early years

The eldest of five children, Young was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

to single mother Marquet Craig, then 14 years old. She supported her family by working as a

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

installer for

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

, 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 Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

. 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 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 Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. 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 South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Georgetown,

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He would decide to

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

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 university, public research university in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Carnegie Classification o ...

, 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, 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 wanted him to play on the inside. Young nearly transferred to Kansas State after his sophomore year of 2006–07, but when the Wildcats' coach

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953), nicknamed "Huggy Bear", is an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial ...

left for

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

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 a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

coach Jim Calhoun, 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

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

edition of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. 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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

(

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

) *

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

Third-team

(

) * AP

Honorable Mention (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

) * 2× First-team All- Big East (2008,

) * 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 Southwest Division of the ...

with the 36th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. On March 15, 2012, Young was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for the rights to Ricky Sánchez. On September 6, 2012, Young signed with 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 ...

. 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. 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. 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 ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

of Puerto Rico for the 2014 BSN season. On July 22, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Juvecaserta Basket of Italy. On December 31, 2014, he parted ways with Juvecaserta. On January 14, 2015, he signed with Mexican team Halcones de Xalapa. On April 8, he signed with Muratbey Uşak Sportif of the Turkish Basketball League. On September 21, 2017, Young signed with Homenetmen Beirut of the

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 80 , , 1 , , 16.5 , , .451 , , .196 , , .777 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , .3 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 78 , , 46 , , 20.2 , , .472 , , .340 , , .767 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , .9 , , .3 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 21 , , 2 , , 11.4 , , .386 , , .000 , , .833 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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, 14 , , 0 , , 9.6 , , .295 , , .625 , , .643 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 56 , , 3 , , 12.4 , , .392 , , .308 , , .535 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 249 , , 52 , , 15.9 , , .442 , , .280 , , .742 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.8

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, align="left" , Memphis , 13 , , 11 , , 19.7 , , .448 , , .250 , , .600 , , 2.3 , , .2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="left" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, align="left" ,

, 15 , , 0 , , 8.7 , , .375 , , .200 , , .750 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 11 , , 13.0 , , .426 , , .217 , , .652 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.1

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, also ...

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

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, 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 South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

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 (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...

s and

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

and completely lost his sight at age 13, but nonetheless reached the state championships in high school wrestling and won a gold medal in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

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 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 (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

; 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 Big3 players Halcones de Xalapa players Hargrave Military Academy alumni Indiana Pacers players Juvecaserta Basket players Memphis Grizzlies draft picks Memphis Grizzlies players Sportspeople from Fort Washington, Maryland Basketball players from Prince George's County, Maryland Philadelphia 76ers players Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sydney Kings players Uşak Sportif players American men's 3x3 basketball players Vaqueros de Bayamón basketball players Cañeros del Este players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) basketball players