Keena Young
This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. (May 2011) |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Sigal Prishtina | April 16, 1985
2010 | Air21 Express |
2010–2011 | Elitzur Ramla |
2011 | Namika Lahti |
2013 | Ballarat Miners |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Keena Young (Born April 16, 1985) is an American basketball player who starred at Brigham Young University from 2004 to 2007. He is currently an expatriate professional basketball player.
High school
Young was a four-year letterman in basketball at Clifton J. Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas. He was named All-Region three times and All-State twice. As a senior, he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game; his team won the Texas State championship and earned a Top 10 national ranking.
Young was a high school teammate and friend of
Junior college
Left without a Division I scholarship late in the summer, Young ended up playing at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. During his freshman season (2003–04), Young averaged 9.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He helped the Texans post a 24-9 record, good for second place in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
During his freshman season, Young accepted a scholarship offer from Texas Tech coach Bob Knight. However, one of Knight's assistants visited South Plains while Young was in the midst of a slump. A short time after that, Texas Tech called South Plains coach Steve Green, informing him that Young was welcome to walk-on at Texas Tech, but he no longer had a scholarship offer there.[2]
Division I career
Because of financial concerns, Young decided not to walk-on at Texas Tech. He planned to return to South Plains for his sophomore season, but was surprised to receive a scholarship offer from Steve Cleveland, coach at Brigham Young University. He accepted the offer and joined the Cougars as a sophomore for the 2004-05 season.
Young was happy to play at a Division I school, but his first year at BYU was frustrating at times. He started the season as a backup, alternating between
Young began his junior year (2005–06) as BYU's starting power forward. He started the season slowly, but picked up his game as the season wore on. He scored in double figures in 15 of BYU's last 23 games, including his first 20-point game as a Cougar (against
However, Young was overshadowed during his junior year by new teammate Trent Plaisted, a 6-foot-11 center who averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Plaisted was named MWC Freshman of the Year. In anticipation of the 2006-07 season, Plaisted was anointed BYU's go-to guy, while Young was considered just a solid role player.
As the season began, opposing teams focused their defensive efforts on Plaisted. Facing constant double-teams, Plaisted struggled early in the season. However, Young had worked hard during the summer in preparation for his senior season. He developed some strong offensive moves in the low post, and he improved his mid-range jump shot. While Plaisted struggled, Young emerged as BYU's top offensive weapon. He scored in double figures in the first seven games of the season, including 27 points and 11 rebounds in a 73-69 victory over
As the season progressed, Young continued his dominating play. He led the Cougars to a championship in the BYU Holiday Classic in December 2006. He totaled 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds against
Young was spectacular in February. He matched his career high with 29 points in another victory over Wyoming. He scored 25, 23, and 24 points in the next three games, all BYU victories. Young carried the Cougars to their first regular season MWC championship since 2000-01. Opponents took notice of Young's outstanding play. Ray Giacoletti, the coach of rival Utah, commented, "You can't guard Keena Young. Nobody can. Nobody has had an answer for Keena Young, anywhere".[3]
However, Young faced constant double-teams and struggled in the first two games of the 2007 MWC Tournament. Fortunately for BYU, Plaisted raised his game and led the Cougars to victory each time. Young returned to form in the title game against
Despite the loss, the Cougars received an at-large bid to enter the
Young finished the season with outstanding statistics: 17.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, along with great shooting percentages (54.3 percent on field goals, 80.3 percent on free throws). He received many honors and awards for his spectacular senior season. He was named MWC Player of the Year, First Team All-MWC, Deseret Morning News Player of the Year,
In three seasons at BYU, Young scored 1,068 points in 88 games. His 590 points during 2006-07 ranks as the 15th-highest scoring season in the history of BYU basketball.[5]
Professional career
In 2007, Young had a short stint with Spotter Leuven, a professional team in
Notes
- ^ "BYU NewsNet - Great Season Caps Young's Career". Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ Schools' changes of heart offer reminder: Recruits beware - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com Live Scores, Standings, Stats
- ^ CSTV.com: #1 in College Sports - Men's Basketball
- ^ Deseret News | Career building: Young's time at BYU marked by consistent success
- ^ BYUCougars.com - BYU Men's Basketball Athlete Profile (Keena Young)
- ^ Virtus Sports - Keena Young Bio
- ^ "Elitzur Ramla sign Keena Young". Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
External links
- Keena Young at BYUCougars.com
- Finnish League profile
- Story on Sportsline Website