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Mike Young is in his 17th year at Wofford. After 13
seasons as an assistant to Richard Johnson, Young
embarks on his fourth year as head coach of the
Terriers.
When Johnson was promoted to athletic director on
Dec. 3, 2001, it was announced that Young would
assume Wofford’s head coaching duties effective at
the conclusion of the 2001-02 campaign.
In his first season as head coach, Young led the
Terriers to their best record in eight seasons on
the Division I level and a third-place finish in the
Southern Conference South Division after Wofford was
predicted to finish sixth. The Terriers also faced a
non-conference schedule that was ranked as the most
difficult in the nation by the RPI and Sagarin
Ratings.
Included in the 2002-03 highlights were a 79-77 win
at Virginia Tech, the first-ever season sweep of
Chattanooga and a 98-82 rout of Davidson.
The 2003-04 victory ledger was highlighted by wins
over the College of Charleston and Davidson.
During the ’04-05 campaign, Young’s troops pulled a
stunning 85-78 upset at Auburn en route to a 7-2
start to the season.
Young has recruited and coached four All-SoCon
selections (Ian Chadwick, Mike Lenzly, Lee Nixon and
Howard Wilkerson) for the Terriers in addition to a
SoCon Freshman of the Year (Chadwick, 1997-98) and
three members of the All-SoCon Freshman Team
(Chadwick, Justin Stephens and Tyler Berg).
During Young’s tenure, the Terriers have moved from
NCAA Division II to Division I Independent in
1995-96 and to the Southern Conference in 1997-98.
In recognition of his contribution to Wofford
basketball, Young was promoted to associate head
coach in August 1998.
Since beginning Division I play, the Terriers
increased their win total for four consecutive
seasons (1996-00). Southeast Missouri State was the
only other Division I program to accomplish the feat
over that period.
Young has been on the Wofford bench for 443 contests
in his 16 seasons. His 300th game with the Terriers
was a 65-64 quarterfinal-round victory over Davidson
at the 2000 SoCon Tournament. Young also helped
guide the Terriers to a 79-74 win over Clemson
during that 1999-00 campaign.
A native of Radford, Va., Young has been
instrumental in Wofford’s success on the court. In
four of their first eight seasons of SoCon play, the
Terriers have finished higher than their preseason
forecast by the league coaches and media.
Wofford has also taken the court against the
strongest competition. In addition to facing the
nation’s most difficult non-conference schedule in
2002-03, the 2001-02 pre-Christmas slate was also
rated as the toughest in the nation by the RPI. The
2000-01 non-conference schedule was ranked third by
the Sagarin Ratings in terms of difficulty.
Young has been coordinator of the Terrier basketball
camp and instrumental in its growth the last several
years. The 2005 sessions attracted over 300 campers.
Young came to Wofford after serving as a graduate
assistant for one year under Oliver Purnell at
Radford University. A 1986 graduate of Emory & Henry
College, he was a four-year letterman in basketball
for coach Bob Johnson and the team captain his
junior and senior seasons. He credits Johnson for
having a major influence on his playing and coaching
careers.
Upon his graduation, Young became a full-time
assistant for two years at Emory & Henry before
moving on to Radford. Another mentor in his coaching
philosophies is Fletcher Arritt, longtime coach of
Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy. Young played one
season for him before attending Emory and Henry.
Young and his wife, Margaret, were married on Aug.
13, 1994 in her hometown of Camden, S.C. She is a
1992 Wofford graduate and a CPA with the
Pricewaterhouse Coopers accounting firm in
Spartanburg. The couple has a daughter, Cooper, 6,
and a son, Davis, 3. |
