Arizona, Baylor, Florida, + Oregon are all in the mix for Houston transfer Joseph Young, per multiple sources. 2 years of eligibility left.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 19, 2013
Joseph Young, a 6-3 combo guard, averaged 18 points a game for Houston in 2012-13
Former Houston leading scorer Joseph Young has Arizona on a short list of programs he is considering, according to Jon Rothstein, college basketball insider for CBS Sports Network.
Young averaged 18 points per game in 2012-13 as a redshirt sophomore guard for the Cougars while shooting 42 percent from three-point range and 87 percent from the free-throw line. He is also considering Baylor, Florida and Oregon, according to Rothstein, who cited a source in a Twitter post.
He is listed as a combo guard, adequate at point guard and shooting guard.
Young announced he was transferring from Houston on June 1 after his father, former Phi Slamma Jamma member Michael Young reportedly refused a reassignment within the Houston athletic department after spending 16 years with the athletic department. The elder Young spent the past seven seasons working as the director of basketball operations for the Cougars.
Michael Young’s contract as director of basketball operations expired May 31. He was offered a community-service role within the athletic department.
“(Houston coach) James Dickey doesn’t want me to be part of his coaching staff anymore,” the elder Young told NBCSports.com. “He wanted to go in another direction. I was offered an alternative position. I refused it, and I’ve moved on from the University of Houston.”
Joseph Young, a 6-foot-3-inch and 185-pound guard, left the Cougars because of his father’s attempted re-assignment within the athletic department. Per NCAA transfer rules, Young must sit the 2013-14 season before becoming eligible. Arizona has 11 scholarship players, leaving coach Sean Miller with two to fill.
“Joseph is dealing with it fine,” Michael Young said to the Houston Chronicle. “He made his decision, and I guess he loves his dad more than he loves the University of Houston. He made a statement to me that he can’t play for a coach that doesn’t want his dad to be a part of the staff.”
Joseph Young will be an academic senior in 2013-14 and under the five-year rule, has only one year of eligibility remaining because he will be required to sit out the 2013-14 season.. He attended Houston after initially signing a national letter of intent with Providence. The Friars did not release Young from the letter of intent, thereby forcing the guard to sit out his freshman season of 2010-11 at Houston.
He averaged 18 points as a redshirt sophomore in 2012-13 after scoring 11.3 the season before. The NCAA allows a five-year window of eligibility,
If Joseph Young transfers to Arizona and plays in the 2014-15 season, he would replace departing senior Jordin Mayes in the rotation.
The Wildcats will have four guards on scholarship (veterans and signees this year) in 2014-15 (provided they all return): T.J. McConnell, Nick Johnson, Gabe York and Elliott Pitts.
Michael Young played on the famous Phi Slamma Jamma team that made three Final Fours. His jersey No. 42 is retired at Houston.
