Height: 6-9
Weight: 235
Position: PF
College: Pittsburgh
Age: 22
2016-2017 Season Stats
PPG: 19.6
RPG: 6.8
APG: 2.7
BLK: 0.8
STL: 0.6
Player Bio
Courtesy of Pittsburgh Athletics
The Storyline
One of three returning All-ACC performers (along with Duke’s Grayson Allen and Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame) from a year ago ... leads all returning players in scoring with 1,187 career points ... Has garnered all-league recognition in each of the past two years ... was honorable mention All-ACC as a sophomore and third team All-ACC selection a year ago ... Has the ability to contend for ACC Player of the Year and All-America accolades ... Enters the year averaging 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game ... has started 102 of 103 career games ... shooting 51.0 percent (425-of-834) from the field and 75.2 percent (318-of-423) from the foul line ... Expected to shine in an offense built around pushing tempo and creating mismatches ... ball handling and passing ability will also be on display in the new system ... Powerful interior player with the ability to stretch defenses with solid shooting touch beyond the three-point line ... has the strength to excel in the post as well as the quickness and skill set to thrive on the perimeter ... Possesses unlimited potential ... will be counted upon to provide scoring, rebounding, leadership and intensity ... Strong combination forward from nearby Duquesne, Pa. ... one of four Panthers on the roster from the Pittsburgh area ... All-around player who can play in the post, mid-post or on the perimeter ... Strong rebounder who relies on toughness, quickness and playing with a chip on his shoulder ... Consistently presents matchup problems for opponents ... can step out and play the wing position against bigger defenders or slide into the post when matched up against smaller defenders ... Combines with Jamel Artis to give Pitt one of the top returning tandems in the ACC ... the duo combined for 30.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game a year ago ... Continues to emerge as a vocal leader for the Panthers ... one of the hardest working players on the court and in the weight room ... One of two college basketball players to serve on the 16-person NCAA Division I oversight committee in 2015-16 ... Has improved his scoring average and field goal percentage in each season with the Panthers ... expected to be one of the top scorers and rebounders in the ACC this season.
2015-16: Named to the third team All-ACC (coaches and media) ... also a second team NABC All-District 2 selection ... Averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game ... shot 53.7 percent (189-of-352) from the field and 77.8 percent (136-of-175) from the foul line ... started 32 of 33 contests ... Ranked among ACC leaders in scoring (14th), rebounds (12th) and field goal percentage (5th) ... Scored in double figures 29 times with nine games with 20 or more points scored ... grabbed double digit rebounds on five occassions ... Finished the year with four double-doubles ... Led the team in scoring 15 times and in rebounding on 17 occassions ... also led the Panthers in assists five times ... Had 19 points, five rebounds, one blocked shot and a steal in the ACC Tournament against No. 7 North Carolina, 3/10 ... went 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line ... Recorded 24 points and seven rebounds at Georgia Tech, 3/5 ... went 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line ... Scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field at Virginia Tech, 3/2 ... added nine rebounds and a blocked shot in the contest ... Had 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes in a win over No. 15 Duke, 2/28 ... Finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists against Louisville, 2/24 ... Grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds in at Syracuse, 2/20 ... Posted 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and a steal in a double-overtime win over Wake Forest, 2/16 ... Had 15 points, six rebounds (four offensive) and two steals at No. 9 North Carolina, 2/14 ... Registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds versus No. 9 Virginia, 2/6 ... Went 6-of-9 from the field and finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists against Virginia Tech, 1/31 ... Matched a season-high with 25 points against Clemson, 1/27… added seven rebounds and two assists ... went 9-of-14 from the field with a pair of three-point field goals and 5-of-6 from the foul line ... Had 13 points, five rebounds and a career-high nine assists in a win over Boston College, 1/16 ... Posted 18 points and eight rebounds at No. 20 Louisville, 1/14 ... Went 7-of-11 from the field and 11-of-14 from the foul line in a 25-point effort at Notre Dame, 1/9 ... added five rebounds and four assists in the win ... Scored 17 points in a win over Georgia Tech, 1/6 ... Had 15 points and seven rebounds against Syracuse, 12/30 ... Named Most Outstanding Player of the Gotham Classic showcase game after scoring 22 points and grabbing six rebounds against Davidson, 12/20 ... went 9-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line ... Had 20 points, six rebounds and two assists versus Morehead State, 12/13 ... went 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the win ... Scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line against Eastern Washington, 12/11 ... Posted 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot in a win over Duquesne, 12/4 ... went 6-of-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line ... Registered a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against No. 11 Purdue, 12/1 ... Scored 23 points to go along with four rebounds and six assists versus Kent State, 11/28 ... went 10-of-15 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line ... Collected 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 21 minutes of action against Cornell, 11/25 ... Delivered 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a win over Detroit, 11/20 ... went 7-of-9 from the field and 7-of-7 from the foul line ... Opened the year with a double-double posting 16 points and 12 rebounds against Saint Joseph’s College ... also added six assists and a blocked shot.
2014-15: Earned honorable mention All-ACC accolades (coaches and media) ... Averaged 13.4 points, a team-high 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while starting all 34 contests ... Also shot a team-best 53.0 percent (167-of-315) from the field to go along with 28 blocks and 21 steals ... Ranked among the ACC leaders in scoring (T-17th - 13.4 ppg.), rebounds (T-9th - 7.3 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (3rd - 3.3 orpg.) ... Led the Panthers in scoring 11 times and in rebounds on 17 occassions ... Reached double figures in scoring 26 times with five 20+ point games ... Also had six double-figure rebounding games ... Had five double-doubles ... Recorded eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the opening round of the NIT against George Washington, 3/17 ... Collected 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the ACC Tournament vs. NC State, 3/11 ... Went 9-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in a 22-point effort against Miami, 3/4 ... Also had seven rebounds and four assists in the game ... Scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds at Wake Forest, 3/1 ... Recorded 22 points, nine rebounds and two assists in a win over Boston College, 2/24 ... Went 5-of-8 from the field and 12-of-15 from the free throw line in the contest ... Scored 14 points and went 6-of-9 from the field in a road win at Syracuse, 2/21 ... Went 6-of-7 from the field and tallied 13 points in a home win over No. 12 North Carolina, 2/14 ... Had 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting at No. 9 Louisville, 2/11 ... Registered 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in a home win over Syracuse, 2/7 ... Scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Bryant, 2/2 ... Went 7-of-10 from the field and scored 16 points in a win over No. 8 Notre Dame, 1/31 ... Grabbed 10 rebounds in an overtime contest at Virginia Tech, 1/27 ... Collected 14 points and nine rebounds against No. 10 Louisville, 1/25 ... Had 11 points and four rebounds at No. 4 Duke, 1/19 ... Recorded 16 points, six rebounds and two assists in a win over Georgia Tech, 1/17 ... Posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Florida State, 1/14 ... Eight of his rebounds came on the offensive end of the floor ... Tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in an overtime win over Oakland, 12/20 ... Went 6-of-6 from the field in a 16-point effort against Manhattan ... Added eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in the win ... Scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds vs. St. Bonaventure, 12/13 ... Went 8-of-12 from the free throw line ... Had 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks against Indiana, 12/2 ... Registered 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals against Kansas State in the EA Sports Maui Invitational, 11/26 ... Posted a career-high 27 points to go along with 15 rebounds in a win over Chaminade in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational ... Grabbed 10 offensive rebounds ... Went 11-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 from the foul line ... Had 13 points and nine rebounds, seven offensive, at Hawaii, 11/21 ... Scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds in a win over Samford, 11/16 ... Went 10-of-13 from the field.
2013-14: Named to the All-ACC Academic Team ... Also an ACC Academic Honor Roll recipient Started all 36 games at power forward ... Averaged 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game ... Reached double figure scoring in five games ... Converted 16 consecutive free throws from 11/30-12/17 ... Scored nine points (4-of-6 FG) with three rebounds in NCAA Tournament vs. Colorado, 3/20 ... Finished with nine points (4-of-8 FG) vs. Wake Forest, 3/13 ... Scored a season-high tying 13 points (3-of-6 FG), hit 6-of-6 free throws in 30 minutes at Notre Dame, 3/1 ... Played a season-best 33 minutes, grabbed seven rebounds at Miami, 2/5/14 ... Scored eight points (3-of-6 FG), and grabbed four rebounds vs. Virginia, 2/2 ... Registered nine points with seven rebounds vs. Duke, 1/27 ... Scored 13 points (4-of-7 FG) with a three-point field goal at NC State, 1/4 ... Finished with 10 points (6-of-6 FT), grabbed seven rebounds (five offensive) and dished out three assists vs. Youngstown State, 12/14 ... Scored 10 points (5-of-8 FG) with seven rebounds vs. Loyola Marymount, 12/6 ... Went 6-of-6 from the free throw line vs. Penn State, 12/3 ... Scored 11 points (4-of-4 FG) with his first career three-pointer vs. Howard, 11/17 ... Grabbed nine rebounds (six offensive) and scored six points vs. Fresno State, 11/12 ... Scored nine points (3-of-4 FG, 3-of-4 FT) to go along with eight rebounds and two blocked two in season opener/freshman debut vs. Savannah State, 11/8 ... Became one of only 14 freshmen in school history to start a season opener.
HIGH SCHOOL: A 2013 graduate of St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J., where he played for head coach Mark Taylor ... Led St. Benedict's to the National High School Invitational runner-up finish and to the New Jersey Prep Championship with a 32-2 overall record as a senior ... Team concluded its 2012-13 year ranked No. 2 nationally by both USA Today and MaxPreps ... Guided the Gray Bees to the NHSI national runner-up finish with a 67-65 championship game loss to Montverde Academy [Fla.] ... Led team with 19 points (8-of-10 FG) and 10 rebounds in the title game, which was decided on a three-pointer by Montverde with 2.7 seconds to go ... Finished with 10 points and sank two free throws to put the game out of reach in a 60-57 semifinal win over top-ranked Findlay Prep [Nev.] ... Scored 17 points (7-of-12 FG) with nine rebounds in a NHSI first round win over LaLumiere Academy (Ind.) ... Averaged 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, converted 89 field goals and 22 three-point field goals as a senior ... Scored 20 or more points six times on the year, including four consecutive games ... Also registered five double-doubles and reached double figure scoring in 18 contests Scored 23 points with 10 rebounds in leading the Gray Bees to a 93-47 state title win over Blair Academy ... The Gray Bees' first loss of the year was to Blair, 66-64, when St. Ben's was ranked No. 5 in the USA Today national poll... Scored 19 points and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds vs. St. Peter's Prep ... Totaled 23 points with 11 rebounds vs. Phelps ... Finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds vs. Teaneck... Scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds vs. Brooklyn Democracy ... Invited to play in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 13, 2013 ... Finished with 19 points (8-of-11 FG) and five rebounds in 29 minutes of action for the Black Squad ... Played in the Donofrio Classic All-Star Tournament and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds in I-3 All-Stars' 123-116 win ... Spent his junior year at Hudson Catholic High School in Jersey City, N.J. where he led the Hawks to a 25-3 overall and 13-0 league record ... Played for head coach Nick Mariniello ... Named an All-Hudson County first team selection after averaging 15.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.9 assists per game ... Scored 445 points and grabbed 324 rebounds as a junior ... Ranked among state leaders in both rebound average (11.6 rpg.) and field goal percentage (72.8 percent, 164-of-225) ... Shattered backboard against Memorial H.S. on Feb. 17, 2012 ... The dunk came at the 7:07 mark of the second quarter with Hudson Catholic leading 37-8 ... Scored over 20 points in six games and registered 10 or more rebounds in 25 of 28 games on the year ... Finished with double-doubles in 23 of 28 games ... Blocked a career-high five shots two different times ... Finished with 20 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in a win over Memorial ... Scored a career-high 34 points (12-of-14 FG) and hit 9-of-10 free throws in win over North 13th Street ... Finished with 24 points on a perfect 10-of-10 from the floor and grabbed 12 rebounds vs. St. Joseph Regional ... Finished with 24 points (9-of-12 FG) and grabbed 10 rebounds vs. Morristown-Beard ... Grabbed eight offensive boards, finished with 17 rebounds to go along with 16 points vs. North Bergen ... Scored 22 of Hudson Catholic's 44 points on 10-of-12 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds vs. Roselle Catholic ... Played his sophomore season at St. Benedict's Prep [N.J.] ... Helping lead the Gray Bees to a 13-12 record ... Scored a season-high 27 points vs. Woodson H.S. ... Spent his freshman year at Shadyside Academy in Pittsburgh ... As a 14-year old freshman varsity player, guided the Indians to a 19-8 overall and 11-4 league record ... Shadyside lost 58-38 to North Catholic H.S. in the PIAA Class 2A second round ... Played in the EYBL circuit during the summers ... Played AAU basketball with the New Jersey Playaz Basketball Club for head coach Jimmy Salmon ... Attended the Reebok Breakout Challenge, Five-Star Camp and Hoop Group Elite ... Camp A consensus four-star recruit ... Rated the nation's No. 56 overall recruit and No. 14 power forward by ESPN ... Ranked as the nation's No. 63 player nationally by Hoopniks.com ... Ranked the nation's No. 97 player by Rivals.com ... Ranked the nation's No. 102 player by Yahoo.com and as the nation's No. 20 power forward recruit by Scout.com.
PERSONAL: Born Michael Young on September 5, 1994 ... Son of the late Michael Young and LaNette Braxton of Duquesne, Pa., which is located 12 miles from Pittsburgh ... Former roommate of fellow Pitt signee Jamel Artis at St. Benedict's Prep ... Artis helped him cope with his father's death ... Committed to Pitt on August 4, 2012 ... Chose Pitt because it was the "perfect fit," along with its "loyalty and honesty" in the recruiting process ... Also said that he was "excited to continue his career in Pittsburgh and to have the opportunity for his hometown friends and family to watch him play" ... He also "relishes the opportunity to be the next homegrown player at Pitt" while following in the footsteps of Washington Wizards center DeJuan Blair, who played at Pitt from 2007-09 ... Grew up watching Pitt and he always wanted to go to Pitt ... Received scholarship offers from Florida, West Virginia, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, NC State, Memphis, Baylor, Xavier, Kansas, Rutgers, Marquette, Virginia, Miami, Fla., St. John's and Seton Hall ... Majoring in communication.