Sam Young

Samuel David Young (born June 1, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA.

Early years

The eldest of five children, Young was born in Washington, D.C. to single mother Marquet Craig, then 14 years old. She supported her family by working as a cable TV installer for Comcast, 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. 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. Despite his statistics, he was not generally regarded as a blue-chip prospect. His physical profile was that of a shooting guard or small forward, but he was playing out of position as a center, and his high school grades meant that he would have to spend a year at a prep school in order to qualify for a scholarship. One of the few major schools to show interest in him at that time was Pitt.

College career

After graduating from high school, Young attended Hargrave Military Academy for a year, averaging 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, Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, and Miami. He would decide to sign with Pitt; Joe Lombardi, then a Pitt assistant and now head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, speculated that Young chose Pitt because "[w]e were there when a whole lot of other people weren't around. He just wanted someone to give him some love."

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 left for West Virginia 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 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."

College statistics

College Statistics
class="toccolours" style="font-size: 90%; white-space: nowrap;"	Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

College awards

AP All-American Third Team (2009)
Sporting News All-American Third Team (2009)
AP All-American Honorable Mention (2008)
2× All-Big East First Team (2008, 2009)
Big East Tournament Most Valuable Player (2008)

NBA career

Young was drafted in the 2nd round (36th overall) in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.

He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on March 15, 2012 in exchange for the rights to Ricky Sánchez.

On September 6, 2012, Young signed with the Indiana Pacers. He was waived by the Pacers on January 6, 2013, but re-signed on January 28, 2013.

NBA statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2009–10	Memphis	80	1	16.5	.451	.196	.777	2.5	.7	.4	.3	7.4
2010–11	Memphis	78	46	20.2	.472	.340	.767	2.4	.9	.9	.3	7.3
2011–12	Memphis	21	2	11.4	.386	.000	.833	2.0	.4	.5	.1	3.5
2011–12	Philadelphia	14	0	9.6	.295	.625	.643	1.5	.4	.4	.3	2.9
2012–13	Indiana	56	3	12.4	.392	.308	.535	2.2	.8	.3	.1	2.8
Career		249	52	15.9	.442	.280	.742	2.3	.7	.5	.2	5.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011	Memphis	13	11	19.7	.448	.250	.600	2.3	.2	.5	.2	7.5
2012	Philadelphia	2	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
2013	Indiana	15	0	8.7	.375	.200	.750	1.9	.3	.3	.1	1.7
Career		30	11	13.0	.426	.217	.652	2.0	.2	.3	.1	4.1