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 (appro ...

coach and former player. He is currently working as

assistant coach An athletic 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 ul ...

for Ironi Ness Ziona of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. 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 ...

at Spring Hill College 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, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

position.

Early life and college career

Younger was born and raised in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. He played

for the Spring Hill College's Badgers, alongside his teammates Eric Campbell and Mickey Gorka.

Professional career

In 2002, Younger started his professional career with Maccabi Kiryat Bialik of the Israeli National League, 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 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 () 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-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

for the 2013–14 season. Younger helped Gilboa Galil reach the 2014 Balkan League Finals, where they eventually lost to Levski Sofia. 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. On June 9, 2016, Younger won the 2016 Israeli League championship title with Rishon LeZion after scoring 10 points in the final against Hapoel Jerusalem. On July 28, 2016, Younger signed with Hapoel Holon for the 2016–17 season. On August 9, 2017, Younger signed a one-year deal with Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli National League. 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. 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 () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

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 players Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Hapoel Hevel Modi'in B.C. players Hapoel Holon B.C. players Ironi Kiryat Ata players Maccabi Givat Shmuel players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Small forwards Spring Hill Badgers men's basketball players Jews from Connecticut