Born in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania,[1] Young attended the University of Maryland, where he played on the basketball team, graduating in 1958.

[2] Young interrupted his college career for a 19-month tour of duty in Germany for the United States Army after the 1952–53 season.

At Rutgers, Young's 1976 Scarlet Knights had an undefeated regular season record and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Under Young's tutelage, Phil Sellers, James Bailey, and Jordan evolved into All-Americans and went on to play in the NBA.

[5] Two months earlier, Old Dominion suspended Young two games for an incident caught on camera where Young and several Old Dominion players chased a Western Kentucky player towards the locker room after a 77–74 loss to Western Kentucky.