Help will be on the way next season for the Cleveland State Vikings as current Spire Institute Post-Grad point guard Daniel Young officially signed on to play for the Vikings on Monday afternoon. Young chose the Vikings over schools such as Akron, who has a rich history of basketball success.
Young’s high school career was extremely decorated as he attended Shaker Heights High School in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio and turned himself into one of the premier high school players in the city over the course of his four years. The Red Raiders have had a rich history of developing guards, with current Charlotte Hornet Terry Rozier, and Baylor Bear Dale Bonner as the most recent and notable examples. Young will look to follow in these footsteps with the Vikings as he was able to learn and grow with the help of his father over the course of his high school career, Shaker’s men’s basketball head coach.
Statistically, Young checks all of the boxes as he averaged 25 points, six rebounds, and four assists during his senior season at Shaker. The Red Raiders oftentimes utilize a full court press, where Young also was able to secure over two steals per contest over the course of his career. However, the intangibles are what Coach Daniyal Robinson notices the most when talking about Daniel Young Jr. the person. In a press release, Robinson stated, “Daniel is exactly the type of kid we want in our program. He comes from phenomenal family, he’s a high character kid, and he has great basketball pedigree. He’s an extremely hard worker…He was committed to the old staff, we had conversations with him, and there were things that he loved about Cleveland State. It was a great fit and we’re excited for him to be a Vike!”
When asked for a comment on Daniel’s commitment to Cleveland State, his father, Shaker Heights men’s basketball varsity coach Danny Young Sr. stated, “Our family is very excited that Daniel chose Cleveland State which is close to home! He comes from a huge family…He will also have a following from his Shaker Heights family as well! He will bring a lot of supporters to the Wolstein Center! This will be special for Daniel being the home town kid! We are so happy and blessed that Coach Gates offered him originally and even more excited that Coach Robinson made that home visit to keep Daniel’s commitment to be a Viking!”
It has been stated repeatedly the overall importance of being able to successfully recruit one’s home base as a college basketball head coach, regardless of division or conference. The official signing of Daniel Young not only welcomes one of the premier Cleveland high school talents to the green and white, but it further exemplifies Coach Robinson understanding this key aspect of team building. Two of Robinson’s first calls as head coach were to Young and Ramar Pryor, a current freshman on the squad who attending basketball powerhouse Akron St. Vincent St. Mary. Additionally, from a pure basketball perspective, Young’s pure scoring prowess will be a welcomed addition to a Vikings team that has struggled to find a consistent perimeter scoring punch so far this season.
