Matt Moran
In the last four years, Drake and Missouri Valley fans alike have witnessed basketball history in the form of a 6-foot-1 guard from Lawton, Okla.
Drake’s 55-40 loss against Northern Iowa on Friday in the Missouri Valley Tournament in St. Louis, Mo., marked the end of Josh Young’s college career. It was a career that included an MVC scoring title, a spot on the All-Conference First Team twice, an NCAA tournament bid and MVC regular season and tournament titles. Oh, and he also set Drake records for free throws and 3-pointers made and ended his career as the all-time leading scorer in school history.
Drake may be looking toward the future with the top recruiting class in the conference this past year and for next year, but it will not be easy to replace No. 20.
Check that. It will be impossible to replace No. 20.
Josh Young. Photo: Sarah Andrews
Young is a model Drake student-athlete. In an era where egos dominate the sports world and it’s all about me, me, me, Young is a high-character team player that always attributed his success to the support he has had around him.
For God’s sake, the guy even thanked the media after his final collegiate game.
“I just want to thank you guys,” he said in a press conference full of writers, television stations and bloggers from all over the Midwest after Drake’s loss. “I appreciate everything you have done for me and my teammates over the last four years.”
When is the last time you heard a star player thank the media? That never happens. The media is always the bad guy in the world of sports.
Head Coach Mark Phelps said the program will undoubtedly miss Young next season.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” he said. “He is the poster child for what we want to do—on the court, off the court, in the classroom and leadership.”
Indeed he is. And no matter what kind of talent is coming to Drake in the future, Young’s name will be listed among the all-time greats to wear a Bulldog uniform.
And believe me, it’s not just Des Moines that admires Young. When Friday’s game was out of reach and Phelps took Young out of the game for the final time, he left to a standing ovation from all kinds of fans in attendance. Drake fans led the cheer, and were joined in by supporters of Northern Iowa, Bradley, Creighton and Wichita State.
“Obviously this league is going to miss Josh,” Northern Iowa Head Coach Ben Jacobson said. “He is one of the finest players to ever play in this league.”
Looking forward, though, Drake appears to have the pieces to become a contender. Freshmen Seth VanDeest, Aaron Hawley and Ben Simons showed plenty of promise and an off-season in the weight room will only make them better. Incoming recruits Karl Madison and Rayvonte Rice will join freshman David Smith, junior Ryan Wedel and sophomore Frank Wiseler to form an explosive backcourt. The Bulldogs improved with experience, and now that these guys have a year under their belts, next year should be even better.
But replacing Young in clutch situations will be the key. Drake turned to Young to make every big shot and most of the time he delivered. It’s not easy to replace a player that’s willing to take the big shot, and also knows how to handle it when the ball goes in and how to move on when he misses.
But the reigns of the go-to guy cannot just be passed on. One of these guys has to take it.
Following in Young’s footsteps won’t be easy. In fact, it may not be possible to do at all.
And don’t thank us, Josh. You earned it and will be remembered in my mind as the greatest player in Drake basketball history.
And for that, I would like to thank you, JY. Congratulations on an unforgettable career.
Moran serves as a The Times-Delphic copy editor and is a sophomore news/Internet and math double-major and can be contacted at matthew.moran@drake.edu.
