STATESBORO, Ga. -- Former Georgia Southern University men's basketball standout Charlton Young has been selected as the head coach of his alma mater. He was introduced by Director of Athletics Sam Baker in a Thursday morning press conference in the Nessmith-Lane Continuing Education Building. Young replaces Jeff Price who resigned on March 30 after 10 seasons.
Recognized nationally for his recruiting abilities, Young has been responsible for assembling some of the most talented student-athletes for each of his former schools. Young recently completed his fourth year as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech following career moves at Jacksonville, Northeastern, Tennessee-Chattanooga and two separate stops at Auburn.
Young becomes the 12th head coach of the University's basketball team. He is the third alum to guide the program as J.E Rowe (1970-1974) coached Georgia Southern through four seasons and Doug Durham served as coach for the 1994-1995 year. There are currently more than 30 men's basketball head coaches at their respective alma maters, including the most recent NCAA Division I national champion and seven other teams in this year's field of 65.
Young, who wore number 12 for the Eagles from 1989 to 1993, started 97 straight games over three years at point guard. During that three-year span, he averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 assists per contest. In his junior and senior seasons, Young posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.94 to 1. Named the Trans American Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player for his performances in three Eagle victories in the 1992 tournament, Young capped the championship victory over Georgia State with 20 points and eight assists, leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.
A three-time All-Conference selection at point guard in two different leagues (Trans America Athletic: 1990-91, 1991-92; Southern: 1992-93), Young earned All-Tournament Team honors in both the TAAC and SoCon and still stands in the ?Top 10' in numerous Georgia Southern statistical categories. His three-point percentage of 40.9 percent ranks number one on the Eagles career list, boosted by top-10 rankings for single-season performances in his junior and senior campaigns. Young owned the top spot in career assists (570) until Dwayne Foreman (588) succeeded him after the 2007-2008 season. His career total of 162 steals ranks fourth all-time on the Eagles career chart and his single-game record of eight (8) 3-point field goals lasted for more than a dozen years, eclipsed only by Elton Nesbit in two different contests (11 vs. Chattanooga 1-17-2005 and 10 vs. The Citadel 2-24-2005).
A Miami native, Young was a star player for Carol City High School in Miami and helped lead his squad to 66 wins against only seven losses during his final two seasons. A member of Carol City's Florida state championship title team as a junior, Young earned numerous awards and honors at Carol City, including a nomination to the prestigious McDonald's All-America team.
Following his Georgia Southern career, Young played professional basketball in Tours, France for the 1993-94 season and returned to campus to finish his degree. After graduation, Young served as the administrative assistant for the Auburn men's team from 1994-1996 then was promoted to assistant coach for the 1996-1997 season. He spent two years at Jacksonville as an assistant coach for Hugh Durham before joining Rudy Keeling's staff at Northeastern (1999-2000). Young signed on for a four-year stay at Auburn under Cliff Ellis then moved to a position as associate head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga for the Mocs' 20-win season and 2005 NCAA Tournament appearance.
During his first coaching stop at Auburn, Young met Carolyn Jones, a two-time women's basketball All-America selection who lead the Tigers to two Final Four appearances and went on to help the United States National Team capture bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The couple married on August 8, 1998, and they are the proud parents four children (in chronological order), daughters Ariel and Audia (pronounced AW-dee-ah) and sons Isaiah and Nehemiah.
Young, who graduated from the University in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in communication arts, was inducted to the Georgia Southern University Athletics Hall of Fame in September 2008.
“C.Y. FILE”
Full Name: Charlton J. Young
Birthdate: August 15, 1971
Family: Wife, Carolyn Young; daughters Ariel (9) and Audia (5); sons, Isaiah (4) and Nehemiah (18 months)
Education: B.S. in Communication Arts (1994), Georgia Southern University
Playing Experience:
Collegiate: Georgia Southern University (four letters)
Professional: Tours, France, 1993-94
Coaching Experience:
Assistant Coach, Georgia Tech, 2005-2009
Associate Head Coach, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 2004-2005
Assistant Coach, Auburn, 2000-2004
Assistant Coach, Northeastern, 1999-2000
Assistant Coach, Jacksonville, 1997-1999
Assistant Coach, Auburn, 1996-1997
Administrative Assistant, 1994-1996
