CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University men's basketball team and Head Coach Todd Simon have announced the signing of Zion Young, a transfer addition from the University of Oakland.
"We are excited to add Zion to the program.," said Simon. "He is a tremendous scorer and shooter. He adds a lot of experience and production to our team. He fits our spread uptempo style and will have to be accounted for as a shooter on every scouting report."
Young is the fifth player to transfer into the Southern Utah men's basketball program this offseason. A 6'3 guard originally from Chicago, Illinois, he holds career averages of 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 38.7 percent from three and 83.2 percent from the free-throw line across four seasons of college basketball.
Young began his college career at Western Illinois and appeared in 31 games his freshman season. He finished the year with averages of 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while knocking down a blazing 45.8 percent of his three-point attempts.
Young had a breakout season in his sophomore year, elevating his averages to 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while drilling 41.3 percent of his shots from three and converting 86.3 percent of his attempts from the free-throw line.
Following the completion of his sophomore year, Young elected to transfer to Oakland University for his junior season. In his first year with the Golden Grizzlies, Young appeared in all 30 games, making six starts. He finished the year as the team's leading scorer off the bench (7.8 ppg) and ranked first in three-point field goal percentage (35.3%). Young scored a career-high 28 points in a win over Detroit Mercy, setting a school record for the most three-pointers made in a game without a miss, drilling 9/9 shots from beyond the arc. Young knocked down three or more three-pointers in eight games throughout the season.
Due to injury, he was limited to just six appearances for Oakland this past season and received a redshirt.
Originally rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN out of high school, Young competed for well-renowned Simeon High School, where he helped lead his team to a 29-4 record and number seven overall national ranking at the conclusion of his senior season.
Young will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Thunderbirds.
Following the departure of seniors John Knight III and Dre Marin, Simon has completely reloaded his backcourt, adding five guards through the transfer portal this offseason. Southern Utah has the potential to have one of the deepest rotations under Simon's guidance in their first season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
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