Player Bio

Thaddeus Charles Young was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1988 to Felton Young and Lula Hall. His father played ball at Jacksonville University and was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in 1978. Young went to Mitchell High School in Memphis and earned All-State honors in three separate seasons. As a senior, he posted an impressive 26.9 points, 13.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 4.3 steals, and 3.6 blocks per game while taking his team to the Tennessee AA Class final. Due to his efforts, Young was named both the 2006 Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year and a member of the McDonald's High School All-American Team. In 2011, he established the Young for Youth Foundation to help inner-city children. You can follow Young on Twitter (@yungsmoove21). Young was a one-and-done player before playing just one season in college was very common. He spent the 2006-07 season with a talented Georgia Tech squad under coach Paul Hewitt. His teammates included future NBA players Javaris Crittenton and Anthony Morrow. Young averaged 14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals. The 6-foot-8 forward was also ahead of his time by hitting 41.9 percent of his three-pointers. The team came together to beat both Duke and North Carolina at home but was disappointing in the postseason. In the ACC Tournament, the Yellow Jackets were knocked out in the first round by Wake Forest in a double-overtime loss. Young led the team with a season-high 30 points on the strength of a 10-for-19 tally from the field. The forward was held to eight points (3-12 FG) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament loss to UNLV as 10th-seeded Georgia Tech was eliminated. Young decided to forgo his last three seasons of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2007 NBA Draft.