James Young
Last but certainly not least, the prodigal son returns back to the Fox Valley, that being swingman James Young.
Being the lone holdover player from last year’s opening night roster, all those who paid attention to the Herd throughout their inaugural campaign are well aware of Young’s scoring chops. In his 20 appearances with the Herd last season, Young averaged 22.3 points on shooting splits of .441/.367/.765, along with 5.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
The Kentucky alum parlayed his strong play in the G League into landing a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers near the turn of the calendar year last season and stayed with the club for the duration of the regular season.
While Young’s call up represented a momentous occasion for the Herd since it was a first for the organization throughout a season of firsts, the 23-year-old’s departure can certainly be looked at as a turning point in their campaign last year as their fortunes turned significantly worse from that point on.
As he told Margaret Naczek of the Oshkosh Northwestern at the Herd’s Media Day last week, the familial atmosphere around the Herd drove Young’s desire to come back and play for the affiliate for the second straight year:
"“Everybody is like your family. That’s why I had to come back,” he said.”"
Hopefully Young’s penchant for getting buckets shines in a similar fashion for however long his stint in Oshkosh may be this season.
The Herd’s 2018-19 season tips off Friday night with a duel against the Greensboro Swarm at Menominee Nation Arena. Per usual, you can catch the game on Facebook Live, which can be found via the G League’s home website.