Young mulling eighth season
MAAC scoring leader considering NCAA’S offer of extra season
Siena women’s basketball player Isis Young is that rare college athlete to be granted a seventh year of eligibility.
Young, a 25-year-old graduate point guard who leads the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in scoring, hasn’t ruled out making it eight next season. The NCAA is giving athletes an extra year to play because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Oh man,” Young said on a Zoom call on Thursday. “Just hearing ‘eighth’ is like a lot. Seven is a lot. I have given it some thought. I don’t have an answer. I’ve given it some thought.”
“We’re having those discussions this spring with all of our seniors,” head coach Ali Jaques interjected.
“I think I was like the third in the history of seven (years),” Young said. “So I’m already on the history list. I don’t know. I’ve thought about it. It’s really going to depend on how this season ends and how my body is feeling. I think obviously college basketball is just a lot and I go as hard as I can when I can.”
Young said if she plays anywhere next season, it will be Siena. The Saints are her fourth school after stops at Florida, Syracuse and Fordham.
“This has by far been the best place I’ve been,” Young said. “So we’ll just have to see how my 25-year-old body feels after we win the MAAC championship and go from there.”
Note she didn’t say “if ” the Saints win the MAAC. They’re 3-7 overall, 3-7 in the MAAC after losing 66-58 at Saint Peter’s on Friday. Siena plays the Peacocks again at 4 p.m. Saturday. Young is averaging 20.4 points per game after scoring 26 against Saint Peter’s.
Normally, the NCAA allows athletes five years to complete four years of eligibility. Young is an exception to that rule by receiving waivers to extend her career. She entered Florida in the 2014-15 season and redshirted due to injury.
She sat out the 2016-17 season at Syracuse as a transfer and then missed the entire 2019-20 season at Fordham because of a knee injury. She plays with braces on both knees.
Young dryly referred to herself as a “professional student.” She’s working on her third graduate degree. She has a bachelor’s from Syracuse in communications and rhetorical studies. She received a master’s degree from Syracuse in broadcasting and digital journalism.
At Fordham, she got another master’s degree in media management. She’s working toward a master’s in strategic management at Siena.
“So lots of schooling,” she said. “On paper, I’m definitely the most schooled broadcaster ever.”
When Young was injured at Fordham, she worked as a radio broadcaster for the men’s basketball team.
She’s been invaluable to the Saints. She returns to the lineup after missing two losses to Marist because of COVID -19.
“It’s just important to me that I’m feeling good,” Young said. “I’m all right. We’ve been in and out of protocol all season and it’s been tough. We’re just trying to do the best that we can.”
Whether she returns for an eighth year or not, Jaques is grateful for the year they’ve had together because of Young’s leadership. Jaques said she’s like a member of the coaching staff.
“I think she’s exceeded all expectations, but I still have a lot more that I think she’s capable of,” Jaques said.