Sailors’ Young is anything but a rookie

Chris Yemma

When a football player makes an adjustment for the basketball season,

sometimes the transition takes weeks, or even months.

The muscles that are used in basketball are completely different

from the football muscles, and the pace of each game is a changeup in

itself.

So how does a basketball team benefit from a football player?

“For us, it’s a physical presence in the middle,” Newport Harbor

High boys basketball Coach Larry Hirst said.

And that’s what happened to Newport Harbor after the Sailor

football team finished its season in mid-December.

The big boys stepped onto the court. Alex Orth, Tom Jackson and

Taylor Young added a whole new dimension to the Sailor basketball

squad. They added something that was lacking when the football

players were drilling opponents on the field.

Specifically, though, Young, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound All-Sea View

League second-team linebacker, brought his football presence to the

basketball court.

“I probably add a lot of physical game,” Young said. “I hear a lot

about fouling out lately, maybe it’s the football mentality carrying

over -- maybe I’m a little too physical.”

Young, a senior, can think whatever he wants, but the statistics

show that he adds an enormous advantage to the team. The Sailors

(8-7) began the season 1-5 and then went on an 8-3 run after Young

and company entered the lineup.

“It’s a huge advantage,” Hirst said. “Any athlete that plays other

sports has an advantage. For football, it’s strength.”

The Sailors’ winning run was capped last week down in San Diego at

the Chula Vista tournament, where Newport won four straight games,

including the championship game against Vista at Chula Vista High.

Young was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while

seniors Brett Perrine and Vinnie Nasca were chosen to the

all-tournament team.

“That was huge,” Hirst said. “All of the other teams’ coaches

voted for Young, which is the utmost respect. You usually don’t get a

choice of who gets the MVP.

“For me, it’s a relief he’s finally losing his football legs and

getting basketball legs.”

Young has gained his basketball legs, indeed. He is averaging 17.3

points per game and averaged close to 21 during the Chula Vista

tournament. In the first round of the tournament, against Madison, he

had a game-high 26 points and in the semifinals he had another

game-high 25 against Chula Vista.

But it’s not just the scoring ability he brings. With the inside

game he adds, the outside game opens up.

“It makes it a more balanced attack that people have to respect,”

Hirst said. “Without him people were just guarding outside and it was

very difficult to do some things.”

He also adds a sense of leadership, along with the rest of the

seniors. Hirst said he doesn’t expect one person to carry everything,

but Young’s voice is just as powerful as all the seniors.

Young has been playing basketball longer than football, which is

one of the reasons he said he prefers the sneakers to the cleats. He

also is the second in his family to go through both programs at

Newport.

His father, Taras Young, Newport class of 1971, played defensive

back for the Sailors’ football team and started on the basketball

team. His dad was one of the reasons he got interested in basketball,

Taylor Young said.

Now, the product of Taras Young is causing problems for numerous

opposing teams.

“He follows a long line of Newport big men who can go outside,”

Hirst said. “And we can depend on him when we need to throw the ball

inside. His versatility makes him such a pleasure to have on the

floor.”