Young attended Northwestern University and was famous for his play at the collegiate level and as an All-American at Gordon Tech High School.

Young attended Chicago's Gordon Technical High School, where he averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

In 2017 Young was inducted into the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) Hall of Fame, joining a distinguished list of other Chicago Catholic High School Athletic League alums such as Mike Krzyzewski, Donovan McNabb, Johnny Lattner, Corey Maggette, Pete Mackanin, and Ray Meyer.

At Northwestern University Jitim Young was one of the top five freshmen scorers in the Big Ten Conference 2000–01 season.

Young finished his collegiate career ranked sixth on Northwestern's all-time scoring list with 1,521 points.

[3] Although he had a stellar[clarification needed] career with Northwestern and the Big Ten conference, Young was not drafted into the NBA.

admired his hustle and work ethic but due to his size (6 ft 2 in) and inconsistent shooting ability no teams took a chance on the guard.

[citation needed] Also in a pre-draft workout with Andre Iguodala Young displayed the talent and athleticism to compete at the NBA level.

[citation needed] At Tim Grover's basketball facility in Chicago, Illinois, Young has shown the ability to stand out on the court with NBA players such as Shawn Marion, Dwyane Wade, Jamal Crawford and Corey Maggette.

[needs update] In 2012–13 Young worked as color commentator for WGN Radio covering Northwestern University basketball games.