FAMILY HISTORY: Freddie Young Jr. flies in for a layup in action last week in the best-of-three championship series of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League. Last Friday, Young scored the game-winning three-pointer in the waning seconds to help YSU edge Iron Peak 37-34 in the winner-take-all game three of the series and earn its first league title. Young scored 14 points in the victory and was named as the Foreal Wooten Playoff MVP. Young made family history in the process, following in the footsteps of his father, Freddie Sr., who helped Tiger’s Tale win league titles in 1996 and 1998 and was named the playoff MVP in 1998. The Youngs are the first father-son combo to achieve the playoff title and MVP double. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Freddie Young Jr. wasn’t discouraged even though his YSU (Young Sports Unlimited) team was on the verge of losing the decisive game in the championship series of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League.
Having built a 30-19 second half lead over defending champion Iron Peak in game three of the best-of-three finals, YSU found itself trailing 34-32 in the final minute of regulation last Friday night at the Community Park courts.
Young, though, saw a path to a stirring final chapter. “I wouldn’t say we were concerned but it motivated us to change the narrative,” said the 6’3 Young, a former standout guard for Princeton Day School and Trenton Catholic who played college hoops at Lincoln University.
Things started to change for YSU when Jeremy Ellis jammed home a putback to knot the game at 34-34. Iron Peak then had possession, but lost the ball when Marvin McNeill made a steal and headed in for a layup. The ball got knocked out of his hand and bounced to the corner. Young tracked it down and fired up a three-pointer from the corner that swished through the hoop to give YSU a dramatic 37-34 win.
As the ball flew towards the basket, Young was confident of a happy ending.
“Every time you let that shot go it is not just a prayer, you imagine it going into the basket,” said Young, who tallied 14 points along with six rebounds and three steals in the finale as YSU ended the summer with a 10-2 record. “You imagine what is going to happen when you win that championship and the guys get to pour the water on you.”
Having lost 60-49 in game two of the series, Young and his teammates were determined to flip the script.
“Something that we say is get back has no date, meaning we can’t let that happen again,” said Young. “We had to come out here and get a win. We had to change the narrative around. We knew that we could, we just had to handle business.”
When YSU extended its lead to 11 early in the second half, it knew it couldn’t relax.
“We were never satisfied, basketball is a game of runs and at any moment they could turn it around and we could turn it around,” said Young. “We knew that we had to stay solid. That is something that we have talked about all year — staying solid in order to have a successful outcome.”
The thunderous putback by Ellis in the waning moments of the contest helped YSU achieve a successful outcome.
“That was a leadership move by him; he drew up his own play for himself wanting the ball and that is that we ask for from him,” said Young. “He has grown so much as a player, as a young man from the kid that he used to be to the man that he is today going to college. I am super proud of him. He is a beautiful player.”
Having lost in the league’s championship series last year, YSU displayed its growth collectively as it overcame nemesis Iron Peak.
“To me, it shows maturity — we definitely matured over the years,” said Young, who was named as the Foreal Wooten Playoff MVP and was doused with water by his teammates after the award was announced. “Even right now we don’t have all of the guys that we had at the start of the year. We had the maturity to stay solid and win at the end of the day. We have always had the talent but we didn’t have the maturity to finish all the way through and this year we showed that we did.”
In Young’s view, that maturity goes beyond hoops. “It is the hunger and heart that we play with for each other, for the game,” said Young. “All of this is bigger than basketball. We are all growing young men coming from the same place. It is just beautiful to see people who can communicate, can stay healthy, can love one another, and can fight for one another. That is what this is all about.”
While Young appreciated receiving the playoff MVP award, he saw it as a reflection of the team’s unity.
“I am trying to take it humbly,” said Young, who averaged 11 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in the playoff run. “I am proud of myself, but this belongs to all of my teammates with the ups and the downs, the good conversations, the bad conversations. It was never just me being the most valuable. We are one team, we are one body.”
As Young went through this season, he tried to pump up his teammates.
“My role has been to lead in whatever way I can,” said Young. “It is talking, communicating, and using the knowledge that I have from college basketball being able to play for such a long time. I am using that knowledge to uplift other players who are just as good but may not have the same experience.”
The experience of winning the title was made extra special for Young as he followed in the footsteps of his father, Freddie Sr., who helped Tiger’s Tale win league titles in 1996 and 1998 and was named the playoff MVP in 1998. The Youngs are the first father-son combo to achieve the playoff title and MVP double.
“Everything that I do is to honor my parents,” said Young. “To do something for my father, to walk in the same steps as my father and to continue to uplift him, uplift myself, uplift our family, and uplift our brothers, that is all I can ask for. I have to say glory be to God every time.”