Taylor Young

Patrick Laverty

When Jamie Diefenbach went down with a knee injury in the last week

of December, everything changed for Newport Harbor High’s boys

basketball team.

No longer could the Sailors rely on the presence of their 6-foot-8

senior center. They lost their leading scorer and rebounder for the

season and other players needed to step up in his place.

Taylor Young, a 6-3 junior forward, has done just that.

Young has helped Newport Harbor to a 3-1 start in the Sea View

League going into Friday’s game against league favorite Woodbridge.

Picking up a lot of the slack in the interior, despite almost always

giving up size to his opponent, Young has been the Sailors’ leading

scorer and rebounder in Diefenbach’s absence.

Last week, Young had 14 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Aliso

Niguel, then added 21 points and 14 rebounds in a victory over

Irvine. For his efforts, he has been named the Daily Pilot Athlete of

the Week.

“We’re starting to get used to the guys we have,” Young said. “It

was tough at first because with Jamie, there was a lot less pressure

on me and Brett [Perrine] to score.”

Prior to Diefenbach’s injury, Young was averaging 10.4 points per

game. In the seven games since, that number has jumped up to 17.7,

including 24 points and 14 rebounds in a victory over Laguna Hills

Wednesday. For the season, Young is averaging 13.1 points.

A three-sport standout at Harbor, Young credits a lot of his

success on the basketball court to his work on the gridiron. While

the conditioning for the two sports is much different -- “It’s

totally different,” said Young, who needed two weeks to get into

basketball shape after the football season ended. “One sprint [in

basketball] and your lungs are dead.” -- the strength Young has

developed as a wide receiver and linebacker in football has helped

him compete against players who are often much taller than him.

“It’s huge,” Young said. “Strength is the biggest thing for

success, other than speed.”

Young isn’t too shabby in the latter department either and is able

to use his strength, quickness and natural aggressiveness to beat

taller players to rebounds.

“That’s the reason I can actually play down there, because of my

aggressiveness,” Young said. “I have an eye for the ball. I just know

where it’s going to go.”

Where the Sailors were going was questionable after Diefenbach’s

injury, which completely changed the complexion of the team. Harbor

has had to become a more transition-based team, often using a lineup

that could technically be considered five guards.

But despite the loss of their senior center, the expectations of

the Sailors players never changed.

“I don’t think our goals have changed,” Young said. “Just our

style of play has changed.”

Also a pitcher and first baseman on the baseball team, Young’s

ultimate goal would be to play college basketball. He admits he’d

readily accept the opportunity to play any of the three sports at the

next level, but says basketball is his No. 1 priority right now.

“I feel good about my ball-handling,” Young said. “What I need to

improve is my outside shooting. I need to be deadly from the

outside.”

He made four shots from beyond the three-point arc earlier this

season, with Diefenbach in the lineup, but has since become almost

entirely a post player.

“I’ve been depended on a lot more for scoring and rebounding,”

Young said.

And he’s produced.