Charlton "C.Y." Young bio
4/9/2009 6:16:00 PM | General
When Charlton Young stepped off the Hanner court as a player for the LAST time in 1993, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be back SOMEDAY.
Now at the helm of his beloved alma mater’s basketball program and ready to author its future, C.Y. promises that games in historic Hanner Fieldhouse will never be the same again.
With his recognizable smile and surprising tears at the announcement of his hiring in April of 2009 as the head men’s basketball coach at “THE” Georgia Southern University, Young returned to his alma mater and to Statesboro. He returned to guide the men’s basketball program, he returned to lead young men, and he returned to elevate his team.
As a person, as a point guard, as a coach, he has always felt responsible. This trait, complimenting so many others, has made him into one of the - if not the - top recruiter in the nation. Young has been responsible for assembling some of the most talented student-athletes for each of his former schools, including the signing of the nation’s top prospect in 2008.
Young, who had been an assistant coach at Georgia Tech for the previous four seasons, became the 12th head coach of the University’s basketball team in the 2009-10 season and the third alum to guide the program. J.E Rowe (1970-1974) coached Georgia Southern through four seasons and Doug Durham served as coach for the 1994-1995 year.
After a pair of seasons which did not measure up to expectations, many dismissed the 2011-12 Eagles, but it was time for Young’s squad emerge as one of the league’s top programs.
The 2011-12 Eagles got things off to a solid start, winning their first three conference games. The team hit a few speed bumps, falling at Davidson, Wofford and Furman before responding to win six-straight and get in the conversation for the South Division Championship. The Eagles finished tied for second with a 12-6 league record, posting the second-best turnaround in league history.
In the league tournament the Eagles downed Chattanooga 76-70 in the first round, but fell 65-58 to Elon in the quarterfinals despite a pair of electrifying performances by Eric Ferguson, scoring 26 against the Mocs and 21 versus Elon to earn All-Tournament honors.
After the season, Young was honored as the SoCon Coach of the Year by RushTheCourt.net and CollegeInsider.com. Additionally, Young was a finalist for the 2012 Ben Jobe Award. The award is presented annually to the top Division I minority head coach.
Young, who wore number 12 for the Eagles from 1989 to 1993, started 97 straight games 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 .409 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 Nesbitt in the 2004-05 season.
“Charlton was a wonderful player who had a special love for the game and for people,” said former Eagle head coach Frank Kerns, who recruited and coached C.Y. “ Those loves, his boundless enthusiasm and outstanding resumé make him a great head coach.”
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, 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 from Georgia Southern, 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 led 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: daughters Ariel and Audia and sons Isaiah and Nehemiah.
Young, who graduated from the University in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in Communication Arts, was recognized as a Basketball Legend by the Southern Conference during the league’s 75th anniversary celebration year in 1995. In September 2008, Young was honored by his alma mater when he was inducted into the Georgia Southern University Athletics Hall of Fame.
