Younger denied fourth
Cougar year
By Crystal J. Doucette
Daily Cougar Staff
Senior forward Kenny Younger, a three-year
veteran of the UH menis basketball team, was turned down for a fourth year
of eligibility with the Cougars by the NCAA.
A member of the 1,000 Point Club with 1,131,
Younger appealed to the Subcommittee on Continuing Eligibility Issues of
the Academic Eligibility Compliance Cabinet in hopes of reversing his ineligibility.
Although he raised his grades above NCAA requirements, the subcommittee
denied his request.
Head coach Ray McCallum told reporters
in a teleconference Monday morning that the association required an academic
percentage of 75 before the start of the season. Although Youngeris eligibility
could not be reassessed until the end of Fall 2000, the team was informed
he could appeal.
Pin Lim/The Daily Cougar
Kenny Younger, shown here
in Hofheinz Pavilion playing Southern Miss last season, was one of the
Cougarsi leading scorers and rebounders.
With the NCAA rejection, the senioris basketball
career at UH is officially over.
"Itis unfortunate," McCallum said. "Heis
a fine young man and an excellent basketball player. We wish him well."
Although he only played with the Cougars
for three years, Younger was one of the top players on the team. He placed
23rd in the Cougar 500 Rebound Club with 631 for an average of 7.3 rebounds
per game.
During the 1999-2000 season, in which he
participated as a senior, he scored a career-high 32 points with 17 rebounds
against Sacramento State in a 72-70 Cougar victory.
A sophomore during his first year in red
and white, Younger was one of the top newcomers in C-USA. A starter in
all 29 games, he was seventh in conference with a .488 field goal percentage
with three double-doubles for the 1997-98 season.
After his junior year, Younger received
C-USA All-Conference Third Team honors for his efforts during the season.
Younger hit a .485 field goal percentage, a .386 beyond the arc and was
second in double-doubles in conference with 11 for the year.
He was the Cougarsi second-leading scorer
with 15.7 per game and second in rebounds with 7.8 per game.
Youngeris 32-point performance during his
senior season was the only 30-point game of any individual Cougar for the
year. He played six double-double contests as he finished the year with
a .459 shooting percentage, 7.5 rebounds per game and 25 total blocks.
A UH starter in every game of his career,
Younger could have led the Cougar squad this year if he continued his previous
court performance.
2001 Preview
The Daily Cougar will present the 2001
UH Baseball and Softball Preview in its Jan. 30 issue. Both teams are young,
and gearing up for the upcoming season.
The menis baseball team features 13 freshmen
on its squad, while the womenis softball team is taking the field for its
inaugural season in Cougar Division I sports.
Cougar softball is practicing off campus
until the softball stadium is finished. The stadium project began last
year and should be completed in April.
The Cougar baseball team will take the
field in its Annual Alumni Game on Saturday, as ex-Cougars and pro players
return to Cougar Field.
