Player Profile: Riley Young
One in a series of articles on Central Penn basketball players this season.
Player shares his tough times and high points – wants a championship game
By Andrew Hunter
Knightly News Sports Reporter
andrew.hunter@mymail.centralpenn.edu
Riley Young, a sophomore who attended Line Mountain High School and Albright College before transferring to Central Penn College, grew up in Treverton.
Young has always been taller than his competition and with both his parents playing basketball, he grew up loving the game so much that he is playing at the highest level he can.
Big achievement
Young said his most memorable basketball achievement was scoring the coveted 1,000th point during his high school career.
He said it was fantastic “just having that memory of scoring that much and having everyone there at that point.”
Photo courtesy Central Penn College Athletics
Some adversity
Young eclipsed this milestone on Jan. 30, 2022, against the East Juniata Tigers.
Adversity is something that every athlete has to go through, and Young has gone through a lot.
So far in his basketball career, Young has dealt with three knee injuries that happened in high school and required surgery. He tore his bucket-handle meniscus in his right knee in his first year.
That summer, he had a regular tear in his meniscus, also in his right knee.
His third injury was a meniscus tear that took a third of the cartilage in his left knee, but he has bounced back and became the player he is today.
His inspiration and determination
He has always looked up to Michael Jordan and called him the greatest player of all time. He looks up to him mainly because of the mentality Jordan brings to all parts of life and to basketball. He referred, for instance, to when Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
“The work he put in even though he was cut from his high school team and having to grinding back from – that is inspiring,” Young said.
He believes he will fit into the team well this year because last year there was never a true “big man” and Young believes he can fill that role.
“Teamwork is a big part of what we are trying to build here, and I am glad I can come in and be a part of that,” Young said.
Since arriving on campus, he has become close with reigning Eastern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year Quadere Allen.
“I have become very close with Q (Quadere),” he said. “We talk a lot on how we can work together this year.”
His short-term goals are to earn a starting spot in the lineup, become the best player he can be for the team now and, of course, to win against and get revenge on Bucks County Community College in the ESAC championship. His long-term goals are to become a United States Collegiate Athletic Association All-American and an All-Eastern States Athletic Conference player.
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Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.
Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.
