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Former UH All-American Michael Young is in his 10th season at the University of Houston, and his fourth as the director of basketball operations and performance enhancement for Cougar basketball players. Young took over his current responsibilities after serving one season as an assistant coach and five years as Houston's strength and conditioning coach. He returned to his alma mater in 1998 after a 15-year professional career spent in the NBA and overseas. A 1984 first-round selection by the Boston Celtics, Young played three years in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers. He also played two seasons with the Detroit Spirit of the CBA, where he was named the CBA's Player of the Year in 1986 after averaging 26 points per game. In addition to playing in the NBA and CBA, Young enjoyed an illustrious 14-year playing career overseas in the Philippines, Spain, Italy, France and Israel. In France, Young averaged 23 points per game while leading Limoges to the 1992 European Club Championship. It was the first time a French athletic club won a European title in any sport. In January 2003, Young was inducted into the French Sports Hall of Fame, and his number was retired. Before he began his professional career, Young was a four-year starter at Houston and holds current Cougar records for most games and minutes played. The Houston native and Yates High School standout also joined All-America players Elvin Hayes and Otis Birdsong as the only players in school history to net over 2,000 points. Young also set a Southwest Conference record for most field goals made. In addition, Young has the distinction of being the only Cougar to start on four teams that earned NCAA Tournament berths. As a freshman in 1980, he was a starting forward and helped lead the Cougars to the 1981 NCAA Tournament. The next year, the Cougars advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in 14 years and Houston was a NCAA Finalist in each of his final two years at the school. The Cougars formed one of college basketball's most exciting teams in history, "Phi Slama Jama" in 1982-83. Young led the team in scoring (17.3 points per game) and helped the Cougars advance to the National Championship game for the first time in school history. He returned for his senior season and teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon to lead Houston to the 1984 NCAA title game against Georgetown. That season, The Sporting News and Basketball Weekly named him a Second-Team All-American. The Associated Press, UPI and NABC Kodak chose him Third-Team All-American that same season. He also was a Consensus First-Team All-SWC selection after leading the league in scoring with 19.8 points per game. Young also was selected to the SWC Post-Season Classic's All-Tournament Team three times. In the fall of 2004, UH honored Young for his All-America career when he was inducted into the UH Hall of Honor. This season, the school will honor him a second time by retiring his jersey number 42. In addition to serving as Houston's strength and conditioning coach, Young earned a bachelor's degree at UH in 2002. He and his wife, Tina, have five children: Michael Jr., Joseph, Mayorca, Jacob and Milan Maria. |
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