A coach's story

By Baker Maultsby  

MARCH 17, 2011 10:50 a.m. (0)

He’d been hired as an assistant basketball coach at Wofford College, a job that paid a barely-enough-to-live-on wage and involved unglamorous behind-the-scenes work.

Wofford was an NCAA Division II program at the time and coached by Richard Johnson. Its players were talented, the games were exciting, and the Terriers won their share. They bested larger, Division I programs now and then.

Still, Wofford was far off the radar of big-time college basketball.

On campus, Young was best known among students for his physical education teaching duties (golf and tennis were on his slate).

Twenty-two years later, Wofford competes in Division I as a member of the Southern Conference, and Young, now the head coach, is set to take his team for the second straight year to one of the biggest stages in all of sports, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Basketball fans all over the country are becoming familiar with Young and with his program. He says it’s more than he could have envisioned upon his arrival at Wofford.

“When I came here, I was 25, we were Division II. When we went Division I, we didn’t exactly come into (the Southern Conference) like a comet. It was year to year. It was a grind.”

Those who know Young best point to his work ethic, perseverance, and commitment to doing things the right way.

“He’s extremely hard-working and deserving of his success,” said John Shulman, head basketball coach the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, a Southern Conference competitor.

Shulman has known Young as long as almost anyone in college basketball circles. The two were on staff together during Young’s first season at Wofford. They shared an office and were roommates.

“The paper ran an article on us calling us ‘the odd couple,’” Shulman said. “I was kind of crazy and messy. Mike was very methodical, neat, in control.”

Shulman would try to loosen his friend up with teasing and practical jokes. “Every day before I left the office, I’d mess up his desk. I’d just try to get a reaction from him.”

When it came to coaching, though, Young’s serious approach impressed Shulman, who noted his colleague’s long office hours, attention to detail, and hard work to recruit student-athletes.

In 2001, Johnson took the opportunity to become Wofford’s athletic director. He quickly named Young as his successor.

By then, Young had become established in the Spartanburg community. He settled down, married a Wofford graduate, and started a family. He and wife Margaret have two children. They own a home in the Converse Heights neighborhood and enjoy a wide circle of friends.

“Margaret’s domesticated him. You can take him out in polite society now,” Johnson joked.

“He’s always a true gentleman,” friend Jamie Fulmer said. Fulmer, whose family socializes frequently with the Youngs, added, “He’s a great guy, a lot of fun to be around.”

There were times when some friends and fans weren’t convinced that Young was having much fun on the job. The responsibilities of a head coach at the Division I level are enormous. It’s not just “Xs and Os” and teaching kids anymore. Head coaches are expected to give final say-so on a wide range of issues large and small.

Johnson said, “He came to me about two months into his new role and said, ‘Do you ever actually get to coach in this job?’”

Mark Hauser, “the voice of the Terriers” on ESPN 1400-AM, interviews Young before and after every game. Early on, while the coach was polite and gracious, it could be hard for the radio team to get him to say much. Perhaps it was mostly a matter of Young’s personality. Coaches like Shulman and Johnson could arguably take up second careers as comedians. Young? Probably not.

But it would be understandable if other factors were at work.

Wofford suffered through a number of losing seasons that saw the team take some severe beatings from conference rivals. There was staff turnover (it’s a “transient profession,” Young noted), and the Terriers had uncanny misfortune with injuries.

“There were times when Mike would seem to withdraw into himself if things weren’t going well,” Hauser said.

Some fans complained about the play of Young’s teams and the direction of the program. But those closest to Young say he never lost confidence and never changed his philosophy.

“I never witnessed an example of his doubting his ability or whether his hard work would pay off,” Fulmer said.

“One of Coach Young’s best qualities is he has incredible poise,” said Dustin Kerns, a former Wofford staffer who is now an assistant coach at Santa Clara University. “I never thought he considered that he couldn’t get Wofford over the hump.”

Young put it this way: “Did I ever get down a couple times? Sure. You have a couple 10-and-20 seasons and see what that does to you. But you either give up, or you pull yourself up by the bootstraps….and that’s what we did.”

Young’ describes the combination of star forward Noah Dahlman and two other players comprising the “Minnesota Mafia” as “a beautiful puzzle.”

Putting talent on the court is a huge part of success – but championship coaches know how to motivate their players and put in them in position to thrive.

“You still have to coach,” said Hauser, who has a courtside seat at every game, “and Mike and his staff have figured out how to take these pieces and meld them into a great team.”

“He can coach,” said Shulman, who believes Wofford’s defense, in particular, was among “the best there has been in our league in a long time.”

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