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BOYS BASKETBALL: All-American Young goes down with injury, most likely out for the next two weeks
ROCHESTER – James Young’s dream season just hit a bump in the road.
The Rochester High School All-American senior swingman strained his left calf muscle back on Tuesday late in the second half of his team’s 57-36 defeat of Oxford, where he scored 31 points, cleared 10 rebounds and dished five assists in the win.
He is expected to miss the next two weeks of action.
The news is practically a death-blow to Rochester’s chances of capturing a third straight league title and could hinder the Falcons’ postseason hopes. The Falcons open the state tournament on February 4, two days before Young’s slated return to the lineup, against a solid Utica Ford squad.
Signed with defending NCAA National Champion, Kentucky, Young is in the midst of a stunningly prolific campaign, filling up the stat sheet with a vengeance.
In 17 games played, he is averaging 28 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocked shots per game. Selected a McDonald’s All-American earlier this month – the only player in the state to receive the honor – he is one of the frontrunners for the 2013 Mr. Basketball Award, which will be given out in the next few weeks.
Young (6-6 1/2) is ranked a Top 5 recruit in the whole nation by a majority of the country’s recruiting services.
Not a stranger to making headlines, he is on the verge of becoming a three-time Class A first-team all-state pick. His high-profile transfer from Troy to Rochester during the first week of the school year in August sent shockwaves through entire local prep hoops scene.
Rochester is currently 15-2 and seeking its first district championship since 1985. Prior to the potential-sidelining of Young for their tourney-opener, the Falcons were considered the runaway favorite in the Sterling Heights Stevenson district.
If Rochester gets past Utica Ford, it would face a down Utica club in the semis and then the winner of the Stoney Creek-Stevenson game in the district finals.
“We weren’t expecting this (Young’s injury), but we’re going to deal with it and move forward,” said Rochester head coach John Pleasant of his superstar’s health issues. “We’ll learn from it and then be that much stronger of a team once James gets back on the floor.”
