Sacred Heart's Dylan Young stands tall

Coming into the 2009-10 season, Dylan Young and physical contact were never the best of buds on the hardwood.

Suffering an injury to his right knee his sophomore year, the 6-foot, 7-inch Sacred Heart Gremlin was constantly battling through the pain. He played a sport he lived for at less than 100 percent while avoiding the grind of low-post play as much as possible.

“Having my knee injury mostly was me trying to avoid contact, so I would get up in the air and try to get around people,” Young said. “I would just try to avoid contact with the knee at all costs.”

As with any big man, Young lost a large chunk of his versatility in the post. The limitations of his knee wouldn’t allow for the explosiveness he desired.

“When he’s healthy, he’s probably in the top five most talented kids I’ve coached here in 12 years,” Sacred Heart coach Steve Goodwin said.

But true to his passion to be a part of a storied program, Young wouldn’t use the injury as a crutch. Instead he flourished under coach Goodwin’s defensive-minded, share-the-wealth system at Sacred Heart. He helped lead the Gremlins to back-to-back district championships his sophomore and junior years and Kaysinger Conference regular-season and tournament crowns in the 2008-09 campaign.

The pain, though, like the previous two years, reemerged at the start of the 2009-10 season. But week by week, his range of motion started to return.

“It gradually got better as the season progressed and I got more motion. It just started to feel better,” Young said.

The new bill of health translated into success for the senior. Young, playing at what Goodwin characterized as 80 percent, picked up extra minutes and started to assert his dominance down low just in time for a postseason push.

Young, a three-year varsity starter and four-year letterman, saw a bump in his numbers, which improved to 10.2 points and nearly six rebounds a contest.

But the numbers didn’t expose the true measure of his contributions until the district playoffs hit.

After capturing the conference tournament and regular-season crowns, the Gremlins escaped with a semifinal win over Tipton, in which Young had five blocks, to face host New Bloomfield in the championship.

In front of a raucous crowd, the senior shined. His 10 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals ignited a Sacred Heart defensive effort that forced 19 turnovers and held the Wildcats to 28 percent shooting and just 10 points in the paint.

His offense followed suit. After winning the opening tip, the tallest player on the floor scored seven of his 19 points to open up the game, giving the Gremlins an early lead that translated into a 60-43 victory.

“It was his best game, Goodwin said. “You want seniors to play their best in big games, especially when a championship’s on the line, because you never know when you’re going to play for a championship again. Dylan did that.”

For his efforts, Young was selected by readers as The Democrat’s March Athlete of the Month with 648 votes, beating out Corey Stackhouse, of Warsaw, who had 622 votes.

“It’s nice to be recognized for the work I put in on the court,” Young said. “I’m just happy to have it. Athlete of the week is nice, but having athlete of the month is pretty cool.”

The performance helped lead the Gremlins to their third-straight district title and after a loss to Stoutland in sectionals, Young finished his career with an 88-21 record and two conference regular-season and tournament championships.

Bound for the University of Missouri next year with an intent to major in physical therapy, Young said he’ll be able to reflect on the success of his tenure at Sacred Heart down the road. And while he won’t be taking the court for Mizzou, he’ll likely find his way to the hardwood for intramural ball.

“It would be too hard to leave the game,” Young said. “It won’t be the same, but I’ll find time to play.”