Northwestern University Athletics
Jitim Young Named Big Ten Player of the Week
2/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern junior guard Jitim Young (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) produced an impressive week for Northwestern, and as a result he was honored as the Big Ten Player of the Week.
Young recorded back-to-back double-doubles and led the Wildcats to their first conference win of the season and their first victory over Indiana since 1988. The 6-2 guard averaged 24 points on 59 percent shooting and 11 rebounds during the 1-1 week.
The Northwestern junior put on a show despite playing both games with a heavily taped left hand due to a dislocated finger suffered on February 1 at Ohio State. Young tipped off the week by connecting on 9-of-11 shots (.818) from the field to rack up 23 points while adding 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, against the Hoosiers. His performance sparked the Wildcats past IU for the first time since January 11, 1988, snapping a 26-game losing streak in the all-time series.
He continued his stellar play against Wisconsin, posting game-highs with 25 points and 10 rebounds, with another five caroms on the offensive glass. Young recorded the second and third double-doubles of his career, all coming this season, and he ranks fifth in the Big Ten in double-doubles this season despite standing only 6-2.
He is the first Northwestern player to record back-to-back double-doubles in conference play since All-Big Ten pick Evan Eschmeyer accomplished the feat nearly three years ago on Feb. 13 and 17 of the 1999 campaign.
Young collects the second Big Ten Player of the Week accolade of his career -- he was also honored on December 3, 2001 -- and he is the first Wildcat player to be honored this season. After averaging 10.7 points during non-conference play, the Chicago native ranks seventh in Big Ten action with 15.3 points per game. He also ranks fourth in conference games only by shooting 56.7 percent from the floor, and he leads NU with 5.8 rebounds per game (tied for 13th in conference play).
