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Houston leading scorer Joseph Young, and father Michael, leaving the program

joseph young

University of Houston Athletics

Houston was dealt a devastating blow on Friday as leading scorer Joseph Young -- along with his father and Director of Basketball Operations Michael Young -- announced they were leaving the program, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle.

Joseph Young, a sophomore guard, averaged 18 points per game last season for the Cougars while shooting 42 percent from three-point range and 87 percent from the free throw line.

The Youngs are leaving the Houston program because Michael -- a former member of Phi Slama Jama -- refused a reassignment within the Houston athletic department after spending 16 years working at the University of Houston. Michael Young spent the past seven seasons working as the Director of Basketball Operations for the men’s basketball program.

Young refused reassignment within the UH athletic department after his contract as director of basketball operations — a position he held for the past seven of his 16 years working at UH — was set to expire Friday. He was offered a community service role within the UH athletic department.

“James Dickey doesn’t want me to be part of his coaching staff anymore,” Young said. “He wanted to go in another direction. I was offered an alternative position. I refused it, and I’ve moved on from the University of Houston.”


The Houston Chronicle also attributed Joseph Young’s departure from the team as a byproduct of the situation involving his father’s re-assignment within the athletic department.

“Joseph is dealing with it fine,” Michael Young said to the Houston Chronicle. “He made his decision, and I guess he loves his dad more than he loves the University of Houston. He made a statement to me that he can’t play for a coach that doesn’t want his dad to be a part of the staff.”

Joseph Young followed in his father’s footsteps to Houston after initially committing to Providence and then-head coach Keno Davis. Davis and the NLI then denied Young the opportunity to leave Providence before Joseph opted to sit out a season, which allowed him to join his father at Houston.

Michael Young is one of the most storied players in Houston history, having played on the famous Phi Slama Jama team that made three Final Fours. Known as the “Silent Assassin,” Michael Young’s jersey No. 42 is retired at the University of Houston and he also received third-team All-American honors in 1984.