Rutgers guard no stranger to Houston
Phi Slama Jama star Young’s son played at Yates
INDIANAPOLIS — Rutgers guard Jacob Young isn’t worried about loyalty when it comes to Sunday’s second-round game at the NCAA Tournament.
The youngest son of Michael Young, a charter member of the University of Houston’s famed Phi Slama Jama, knows exactly who dad will be rooting for when the 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights play the No. 2 seed Cougars at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I’ve gotta make sure he wears a Rutgers shirt,” Jacob, a 6-2 senior, said. “I’m his son, I’m his blood.”
Jacob spent much of his childhood around the UH basketball program, where Michael served in different roles after his playing career ended. Jacob would tag-along to work with his dad. He discovered old tapes of Michael’s playing days, alongside future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, as the Cougars made three straight Final Four appearances from 1982-84, losing in the championship game the last two trips.
“I’m just really pumped,” Jacob said. “Just thinking about what my dad did for the program in the 80s. I’m just trying to beat Houston. Who wouldn’t want to beat your hometown team?”
Jacob said he had “a lot going through his mind” when Rutgers — which last made a NCAA Tournament appearance in 1991 — was paired with Houston in the same half of the Midwest Region.
First, though, the Scarlet Knights had to win a tournament game for the first time since 1983. A 13-point performance by Young helped Rutgers beat seventh-seeded Clemson 6056 on Friday night, giving Jacob a shot at his dad’s alma mater.
“We’ve got to get this win so we can play them,” Jacob said. “You don’t understand what’s going through my mind.”
Young wears No. 42, the same jersey number his father wore at UH. Michael’s retired number hangs on a wall — next to Olajuwon, Drexler and Elvin Hayes — inside UH’s Guy V. Lewis Development Facility. Older brother, Joe, played for the Cougars from 2011-13 before transferring to Oregon.
Until Friday, Jacob was the only player on the Rutgers rosters with NCAA experience. A star at Yates High School, Jacob originally signed with the Longhorns and played two seasons from 2016-18.
UH coach Kelvin Sampson said Young was regarded as a “big-time scorer” out of high school but has evolved into a “really good basketball player.”
This season, Young was second on the team with 14.5 points per game, led the Big Ten with 1.83 steals and was ninth in field-goal percentage at 47.3 to earn honorable mention in the toughest conference in college basketball.
“Young’s defense, ball pressure is like a one-man press,” Sampson said.
If Rutgers pulls off the upset to advance to the Sweet Sixteen?
“I know one thing, if we do get the win, I’m going back to Houston with a big smile on my face,” Jacob said.