STEPPING UP IN CLASS
Family ties strong for Youngs Off its historic win, Rutgers faces test in 2-seed Houston
Jacob Young’s father played with Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon on the University of Houston’s Phi Slama Jama team that was upset in the national championship game by Jim Valvano and North Carolina State, and he played again with Olajuwon the next year when Patrick Ewing and Georgetown denied them in the 1984 title game.
Michael Young was a 6-foot-6 forward on those teams, a hometown hero from Yates High School, and on Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, his alma mater will be trying to survive and advance to the Sweet 16 against Rutgers. His son Jacob plays for Rutgers. Michael Young and his wife Tina will be in the stands.
Maybe just a little bit conflicted. But maybe not.
“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna wear a Rutgers shirt first, ’cause you know?” Jacob Young said with a laugh Saturday, “I’m his blood, his son. I’m pretty sure it’s different when your son, somebody that you raised, is playing against your alma mater.” Son knows best. “He’s exactly right,” Michael Young told The Post. “Either way, I’m gonna have some feelings, but I’m pulling for Rutgers.”
Jacob Young also comes out of Yates High School and played 39 games over two seasons at Texas before transferring to Rutgers. His father is third in scoring in Houston history and is one of five players to have his jersey retired by the university.
Before Rutgers made history on Friday night by winning a men’s NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 38 years, after making history by reaching the tournament following a 30-year absence, Jacob Young couldn’t help but notice that No. 2-seed Houston very likely would be next if the Knights could defeat Clemson in their Midwest Region first-round game, and allowed himself to dreamed this improbable father-son dream.
“We gotta get this win so we can play them,” he said. “I can’t wait. I’m just so pumped up and ready. There’s so many thoughts going through my mind, I don’t even like know what to say.”
Under coach Steve Pikiell, Rutgers has emerged as a team of destination, and believes it can be a team of destiny as well.
“Who wouldn’t want to beat like a hometown team?” Jacob Young said. “We’re so connected now we’re ready to go for Sunday.”
Jacob Young is a 6-2 senior racehorse guard with a will to win. Michael Young was asked if his son’s unmistakable swag reminds him of himself.
“No, you know, I didn’t have a swag, I was a silent assassin,” the father said. “He’s kinda talking out there, moving out there, pumping his arms, you know? That’s his style of play.” He’s fun to watch, isn’t he? “He is,” Michael Young said. “I love watching him.”
Jacob’s teammates love playing with him.
“Jacob’s kinda turned into one of my favorite teammates, the way he loves basketball . ... You never have to worry about him playing hard,” Paul Mulcahy told The Post. “His energy is contagious, his smile’s infectious, and he just really, really loves the game of basketball.”
The father was asked whether his son wanted to follow him at Houston. Jacob’s older brother Joe played there from 2011-13.
“Well, he had pretty much already committed to Texas,” Michael Young said. “Whenever Coach [Kelvin] Sampson had gotten the job [April 2014] ... to answer your question, he never heard anything from University of Houston. He wanted to stay close to home and Texas was a great school, a great opportunity that wasn’t too far away from home.”
The father, 60 years old, knows how magical March Madness can be ... and how heartbreaking it can be.
“The older I get, the more I respect it ... it was a lot of fun playing with the guys that I played with, along with our style of play,” he said. He went to three Final Fours. “Also, as I get older, I understand how tough it is to get there,” Michael Young said.
He was a UH assistant coach for one season and spent five years as Houston’s strength and conditioning coach before becoming director of basketball operations and performance enhancement.
Jacob has played ball in the summer with some of the Houston players.
“I know one thing,” Jacob said, laughing. “If we do get the win, then go home, back to Houston, with a big smile on my face.”
Rutgers has made plenty of history so far. Another potential landmark achievement awaits.
First, the Scarlet Knights became the
first Rutgers group to reach the men’s NCAA Tournament in 30 years. Then, they got their first win in the dance in 38 years. With an upset of Houston on Sunday, they would be the first Rutgers men’s team to reach the Sweet 16 in 42 years, and the first program from the area to do so since Seton Hall in 2000.
“We’re happy to bring some excitement back to New Jersey,” sophomore guard Paul Mulcahy told The Post, “and we’re not done yet at all.”
That was the feeling from 10th-seeded Rutgers after it knocked off No. 7 Clemson on Friday night, and again when the Scarlet Knights met the media Saturday afternoon. They were excited, but not content. Elated, but not satisfied.
Prior to that victory, they felt they could do damage in the tournament. One victory didn’t accomplish that mission. The celebration after the win wasn’t over the top.
“I don’t think this team wants to put their uniforms away,” coach Steve Pikiell said, as his team was preparing for the Midwest Region second-round game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. “We talked about, ‘What are you going to do with this opportunity?’ ” The second NCAA Tournament victory in 38 years will be much tougher than the first for Rutgers (16-11). Houston (25-3) is a Final Four contender, a second-seed that enters this matchup on a seven-game winning streak. By the time he spoke Saturday, Pikiell had already watched several Houston games and was well aware of the challenge ahead. One by one, he listed everything that makes the Cougars such a tough matchup. They have the co-AAC Player of the Year (Quentin Grimes), the AAC Defensive Player of the Year (DeJon Jarreau) and the AAC Most Improved Player (Justin Gorham). They are tied for fifth in the country in rebounding margin at plus-9, sixth in offensive efficiency and 12th in defensive efficiency.
Even without Jarreau in the opening round (the senior point guard is dealing with a hip injury and his status for Sunday is uncertain), Houston waxed 15th-seeded Cleveland State, 87-56, as six scored different in double figures. players “Worthy of their twoseed,” Pikiell said. “They got every award you can get in that league. Their defense is elite.” He added: “Not many weaknesses on this team. We got to play great.” Pikiell’s focus was on the glass, a Rutgers strength. Houston isn’t big — the Cougars don’t have a player taller than 6-foot-8 — but it doesn’t matter. The Cougars still average 14.3 offensive rebounds per game, the third-most in the country. Rutgers forward Myles Johnson, dealing with ankle and back discomfort, and company will need to be instrumental on the glass.
“This team is the best rebounding team we’ve faced this season,” Pikiell said. “Our guards have to do a great job. It’s not just Myles’ job. It’s not just Cliff [Omoruyi’s] job. It’s got to be one of those games.”
Rutgers hasn’t defeated a team of this ilk since December, when it knocked off Illinois (now the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region) at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights struggled against the best teams in the Big Ten after a hot start: they were swept by Iowa and Ohio State, overwhelmed at Michigan, unable to topple Wisconsin at home. But they have faced teams every bit as good as the Cougars. They know they belong on the same court.
Winning, Rutgers believes, is possible. Advancing is within reason.
“We know that can’t be the end,” said senior guard Jacob Young, a Houston native whose father, Michael, played for the Cougars in the Phi Slama Jama days of the early 1980s. “We’re going to keep on pushing, go as far as we can and make a deep run.”