LebCo Male Athlete of the Week: RJ Young (Week Ending February 4, 2024)

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RJ Young

Cedar Crest won the Lancaster Lebanon League’s Section 1 Championship and currently holds a 16-5 record as they prepare to begin their postseason journey. The Falcon starting line-up consists of four seniors and one junior. The member of the Class of 2025 is their 6’7” big man, RJ Young, who has come up huge as of late. On February 1st, in a game where Crest defeated Manheim Township to secure the Section 1 crown, Young led the team with 19 points. Two days later, he followed it up with an 18 point performance to lead the Falcons over Conrad Weiser. For his efforts, Young was chosen by the voters as the LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

For the season, Young is averaging 8.8 points per game. While Young has had a great season offensively for Cedar Crest, his emergence has helped them in several games down the stretch. In addition to the scoring, he is invaluable down low, averaging 8 rebounds per game. His defense has also been outstanding, as he has blocked over 30 shots this season.

Coach Tommy Smith said of Young, “RJ is a tremendously talented player who is only beginning to sniff his potential.”
The head coach, now in his 14th season, also pointed out one overlooked talent Young possesses: “He is a very good passer. He faces multiple double teams every game and does a great job finding his open teammate.”

It is this trust with his teammates that Young values above all when reflecting upon his recent performance. In speaking about how he views his role on the team, he says that he is at his best when he plays by “just letting the game come to me and not trying to do too much.” This is the result of the relationship with his teammates, something he is thankful for as they have allowed him to make plays that have helped the team win.

The bond of this year’s Cedar Crest team is strong, as they have the goal of winning the League title before challenging for the District 3 title. Theoretically, Young’s window of opportunity for winning is longer than his older teammates, but after missing much of his freshman and sophomore years with injuries, he knows that he must adopt a win-now mentality.

Basketball is in his genes, and he would like to eventually play collegiately like his father, Ross Young. The elder Young was a mainstay of the Lebanon Cedar powerhouse teams of the mid-nineties before going on to have a superb collegiate career at Lebanon Valley. However, the athletic genes are not exclusive to the paternal DNA, as his mother, Meghan, was a member of two MAC Championship Field Hockey teams during her time at LVC.

In addition to wanting to play basketball at the collegiate level, Young already has decided that he would like to follow in his father’s footsteps in another way with dreams of being a financial advisor. Some of those times he is dreaming about the future is when he takes his ritual pregame naps.

However, Young isn’t currently worried too much about his long-term future, as there is more high-stakes basketball to be played right now. We wish RJ all the best as he does his part in helping his Cedar Crest Falcons to have a successful postseason.

The LL Playoffs begin on Monday night with a quarterfinals matchup against Octorara.

Photo Credits: Rachelle Isgriggs

The articles about Kendall Cooper and Miracle Hershey will be published soon

For a full list of this week’s nominees, check out: Athlete of the Week Voting: January 29 – February 4

Previous Winners

Micah Gray (Week of 12/4) – ELCO picked up a huge wins over Octorara and Donegal to seemingly make it into Districts.

Elisha Slabach (Week of 12/4) – Annville won two key games that helped them seemingly secure a District 3 Playoff spot. In the win over Susquenita, he scored 24 points. He scored 18 against Tulpehocken earlier in the week.

Aaron Seidel (Week of 12/11) 

Ashton Kriss (Week of 12/18) 

Daryan Rodriguez (Week of 12/18) – Scored 18 points against Lower Dauphin.

Riley Clinger (Week of 1/2) 

Ben Stohler (Week of 1/8)

Leo Tirado (Week of 1/8) – Scored 9 points in the win over McCaskey.

Tanner Feagley (Week of 1/15)

Dallas George (Week of 1/15)  – ELCO picked up a huge wins over Octorara and Donegal to seemingly make it into Districts. Scored 22 in the win over Donegal and led the team down the stretch against Octorara.

Sam Wolford (Week of 1/22)