Thaddeus Young
Full name is Thaddeus Charles Young ... Born June 21, 1988 in New Orleans, La. ... Son of Lula Hall and Felton Young ... Family moved to Memphis when he was a fourth-grader ... Father played basketball at Jacksonville University (1976-78) ... Academic interest is Management.
Top-10 national prep senior who is the youngest of Tech's incoming freshmen and an outstanding student ... Highly-rated small forward with long arms, toughness and grit, unafraid to post up and bang inside ... Can guard on the perimeter well.
Five-star prospect from Mitchell High School in Memphis, where he was coached by Jerry Johnson ... Named to the McDonald's All-America team and was a second-team Parade All-American ... Ranked as high as No. 3 by Rivals and Lindy's prior to his senior year, No. 6 overall following his senior year by PrepStars.com ... Considered by Rivals to be the nation's No. 3 small forward. Named all-state three times ... The 2006 Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year, and also the 2005 Class AA Mr. Basketball ... Started playing with the varsity team in eighth grade, helping Mitchell to a 123-40 overall record in five years, and finished his prep career at Shelby-Metro area's fifth all-time leading scorer.
Led Mitchell to the Class AA state finals in 2006, averaging 26.9 points, 13.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 4.3 steals and 3.6 blocks per game as a senior ... Scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the 2006 McDonald's All-American Game in San Diego, and scored 11 points at the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis ... Poured in 28 at the Jordan Classic All-American Game in New York and earned MVP honors ... Played in the 2006 Nike Junior World Championship in Paris, France.
Second-team All-American by Street & Smith's following his junior year ... Averaged 23.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 4.3 steals and 2.3 blocked shots per game, and helped Mitchell to a 31-5 record and the finals of the Region 8-AA playoffs ... Also played at the USA Youth Developmental Festival for the Blue team, scoring 16 points (6-of-9 FG) in the only game he played (missed the rest with an ankle sprain).
Also an outstanding student who compiled a 4.3 GPA in high school, was a member of the National Honor Society ... Also ran cross country through his junior year and finished in the top 10 of every race in which he competed ... Mitchell principal John Ware said, "I've been in Memphis City Schools for 29 years, and I've had some outstanding student-athletes, and he's the most remarkable student that I've ever been involved with."