Update: Mike Jones was officially introduced as the head coach of his alma mater Old Dominion on March 1.
Back when he was the head basketball coach at DeMatha Catholic High School, Maryland assistant coach Mike Jones ran a basketball camp that many future stars attended throughout the years.
One year, Jones ran into a particularly unique kid at his camp. The player was left-handed and much younger than the other boys. He was no older than 7, so young that his mother had to convince Jones he was skilled enough to attend. He was shy and muttered about two words the entire first day of the camp. But he was incredibly talented and competitive, even when playing against the older and more experienced boys.
It all became a recurring theme with Jahmir Young, who had to repeatedly prove himself on the hardwood growing up. However, it helped that Jones realized Young was special from an early age.
Jones now serves as an assistant on the Terps’ coaching staff while Young is in the midst of a career year. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard is averaging a career-best 21.1 points and 4.0 assists entering play on Feb. 25.
The 2023-24 season is the only campaign the two have shared at the collegiate level, but their 15-year relationship stems from a lifelong love for the game of basketball.
“I find myself sometimes just truly trying to soak in the blessing that he and his family have been in my career,” Jones said. “This is pretty cool to be going through. Maryland’s been home for me for so long. We’re both Marylanders. We’re both representing the state university and we’re doing it at the same time on the same team and he’s leading the way.”
Jones always wanted Young to play for him at DeMatha, but the Stags were a powerhouse full of talent, especially at guard. Young initially attended St. Mary’s Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Md., where he played for the Knights’ varsity basketball team during his freshman and sophomore years (2015-16 and 2016-17).
Young drove nearly an hour each morning and often encountered the tedious traffic that plagues the Capital Beltway to play for the Knights in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. DeMatha also competes in the WCAC, where many of the area’s top basketball recruits play.
Patrick Behan, the head coach who had recruited Young to St. Mary’s Ryken, left for a coaching job at St. John’s College High School in D.C. following Young’s sophomore season. Young then had a decision to make. He debated following Behan or playing for Jones at DeMatha.
The uber-talented-yet-undersized guard decided to transfer to DeMatha, even after defeating the Stags a couple of weeks prior. A couple of stars on the roster graduated, opening an opportunity for Young.
“I hadn’t really been to many camps growing up. I’ve been to a lot of DeMatha camps, so I was able to be in front of Mike Jones a lot,” Young said. “So, he was more familiar with my game than anybody else. Behan was going to St. John’s, but they also had a couple of guards there. So, it wasn’t the ideal situation like DeMatha was.”
Jones recalled what made Young a player he wanted on his roster at the time.
“He could do pretty much everything. He could score the ball, he could distribute the ball, he could guard the ball,” Jones said. “He had an uncanny ability to rebound the ball for a guard and a guard at his size, but he was able to do all of those things. He literally was leading a St. Mary’s Ryken program that traditionally wasn’t a power and wasn’t necessarily the best team around, but he had them really good while he was there and were showing no signs of slowing down.”
Young was the full-time starting point guard for a DeMatha team that featured future college hoops stars Hunter Dickinson, Justin Moore and Earl Timberlake. He helped the Stags win the WCAC championship as a junior in 2018 and earned an honorable mention Washington Post All-Metro selection as a senior. However, college coaches weren’t convinced his talent would translate to the next level.
Young was often overshadowed by his superstar teammates, but Jones says Young was more focused on doing whatever it took for his team to win.
“I’ll be one of the first people to say that he definitely was very underrated, but even more so underappreciated,” Jones said. “Jahmir sacrificed for other guys to be as good as they were. Jahmir could have shot more basketballs. He could have scored more points. He could have done a lot more things that maybe would show up on a stat sheet, but Jahmir wanted to win.”
Young was always interested in attending Maryland, but he didn’t receive much interest from power conference programs. Jones says several mid-
major programs were hoping he continued flying under the radar so they could grab him.
One of those programs was Charlotte. Then-49ers head coach Ron Sanchez was one of the few coaches who truly understood how good Young was, according to Jones. Young played at Charlotte from 2019-2022, averaging 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists during his three seasons with the 49ers.
Young transferred to Maryland following the 2021-22 season, and he faced some doubts about how his game would translate to a higher level of competition. He silenced those fears by averaging 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists, good enough for a second-team All-Big Ten nod, and leading the Terps to an NCAA Tournament bid.
Head coach Kevin Willard’s first season at the helm was successful enough that three of his assistants accepted head coaching jobs elsewhere. He searched for new assistants and Jones, then an assistant at Virginia Tech, was one of the people he reached out to.
“When rumblings started to kind of surface, honestly the first person to call me was [Young’s] mom. And she was like, ‘Are you coming to Maryland?'” Jones said. “At that point in time, it was not definite that I was. But I told her that I was thinking about it. And she and I had our private conversation about how cool that would be. Then I reached out to [Young]. … The possibility seemed pretty exciting to him as well.”
Jones joined the staff during the offseason in April 2023 and reunited with Young for the fifth-year guard’s final season in College Park. Young recorded a career-high 37 points in a win against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 22. He then dropped 36 points in a narrow defeat at Northwestern on Jan. 17. Young was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice during that span.
The hometown kid attributes much of his success to the first coach to believe in him.
“Him just being hard on me from the jump, just trying to make me into that ideal high-level D-I point guard,” Young said. “So, I’m just thankful for him. I’m thankful that he pushed me the way that he pushed me. And I mean, it’s all making sense now. And just all the knowledge that he was able to give me while I was there, and that he still does.”
Jones is thankful to be part of Young’s success. Now, Jones can’t wait to root for Young when his pupil is playing professionally.
“I know how much he’s worked. I know that he’s driven by a faith and a quiet confidence,” Jones said. “I know what we all see him doing on the court is something that he’s dreamed of doing his whole life. So, to know how hard he’s worked for that and actually seeing him doing it is very special.”
Photo Credits: Kenya Allen/PressBox