Vertern Playing Well For Unt

good_ken · February 28, 2007

Veteran of Iraq playing well for UNT
Former Marine who served in Iraq brings maturity to Mean Green
02:01 AM CST on Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle
bvito@dentonrc.com
DENTON – His teammates call him "The Glue."
If North Texas needs a rebound, Rich Young finds a way to grab it. If a steal or a defensive stop can turn a game around, head coach Johnny Jones usually turns to the senior to make the play.
Jones knows nothing he requests of the former U.S. Marine sergeant could possibly be too big a challenge.
The 6-5 guard knows how tough life can be, and no situation he has run into, on or off the floor, while playing for the Mean Green the last two years comes close to what he encountered in Iraq.
Tough was having starving Iraqi children beg him for food and defending a road into Baghdad his fellow soldiers called "Ambush Alley" in 2003 during a four-year tour of duty that preceded his college basketball career.
"It was hard to be in Iraq and be away from home, period," Young said. "You know that you can die any day from a bomb, a bullet or some kind of chemical. That is always on your mind."
Young, 26, made it back home and took advantage of a second chance to play college basketball while becoming a key player for UNT, which is in the midst of its best season in more than 25 years heading into the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
UNT (19-10) will take on Louisiana-Lafayette (9-20) in a first-round game tonight at the Super Pit, where Young will try to extend a breakout season in which he has posted 54 assists, 30 blocks and 33 steals while averaging 5.8 points a game.
No other UNT player had reached the 40-25-25 milestone in assists, blocks and steals in a single season.
"Rich brings a great deal of maturity to the team," Jones said. "His demeanor and calmness have helped us as well as his toughness. It has rubbed off on the rest of the guys."
UNT's players describe Young as a focused and quiet guy who fits in with them, despite being older than most college athletes because of the unusual path he followed to UNT.
Young was an all-section player for Farrell, Penn., High School and had scholarship offers from Youngstown State and Ferris State.
He passed on those opportunities to join the Marines with his brother, Brandon, in 1999.
"I didn't think that school was the right place for me to go at that time," Young said. "I was not mature enough at that point and there was always something about the Marines that caught my attention. People said that it would be too hard and I wouldn't be able to do it. I wanted to see if I could."
Young's time in the Marines was like a blur with stops in hotspots around the world, including Kosovo, Kenya and Iraq.
"One of the first things I encountered when I got to Iraq and crossed the border was kids would run up to you because they were hungry and wanted food," Young said. "You have to be mentally strong to make it through things like that."
Young's patrol traded fire with insurgents while guarding the road that ran through "Ambush Alley" on its way north into Baghdad.
Young said serving overseas made him miss the luxuries of home and sparked his interest in playing college basketball.
A call from his cousin, Joseph Holmes, was enough to convince Young to give basketball another try. Holmes was playing at North Carolina A&T but had decided to transfer and convinced Young to follow him to Eastern Oklahoma State.
"Taking Rich was one of the best moves I have ever made as a junior college coach because he is not only a good player, he is an outstanding man," Eastern coach Jimmy Voight said.
Young averaged 10.0 points and 6.3 rebounds a game while earning second-team All-Bi State Conference honors as a sophomore.
Young played just 11.0 minutes a game at UNT as a junior, but has taken on an expanded role this season while helping lead the Mean Green to its best record since the 1977-78 squad went 22-6.
The mark is one UNT players say they never would have reached without Young.
"We respect Rich and get a lot of insight from him," UNT senior guard Calvin Watson said. "It's amazing what he went through and how strong he is mentally. He is the catalyst for our team. Being down 17 is nothing after you have been to Iraq."

edcollopy · February 28, 2007

I wish he had one more year with us. Fantastic story of a very mature young man.

MeanGreen61 · February 28, 2007

Great article !

DeepGreen · March 1, 2007

I sure didn't know Rich Young was a Marine, much less an Iraq ware veteran. From one Veteran to another, thank you for your service to our country, Rich. Good luck tonight! :thumbsup: