Last I checked, the definition for “baller” hadn’t made it into Webster’s Dictionary – but don’t quote me. Whenever Mr. Webster decides to do so, I’m going to recommend he call up Ebony Young from the Oregon State’s women’s basketball team.
She knows damn right.
After joining Oregon State late as a partial qualifier in 2002, Young has done nothing but give 110 percent to the women’s basketball team. Sound cliché? Fine, be a hater.
But since that year she has battled through numerous injuries and kept her head up, becoming one of the favorites of the team. It’s not because she is the leading scorer or because she strikes fear in the hearts of players around the Pac-10. It’s because she exudes something that fans can connect with and people enjoy watching: heart.
Perseverance isn’t just a catch phrase and a poster on a wall to Young; it’s a way of life. She’s battled her way back from multiple injuries.
Her first battle with injury was just nine games into her sophomore year in her first year of playing time. She tore her ACL in a game against Cincinnati, the game before Oregon State grabbed its 400th victory in women’s basketball. Young ended the season averaging 4.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 14.6 minutes.
But she would return. She learned from her experience and after an off-season of rehab and a new appreciation for knee-braces, she was back for her junior year.
This time it was 20 games into the season when injury struck: other knee, same ligament. Young missed the final nine games of the season. She finished averaging 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 13.5 minutes of action.
Most people would throw in the towel after one knee injury, but returning to court after two ACL injuries is absurd in the minds of 99 percent of America. It would be easy to call it quits and watch from the sidelines, never worrying about injuring a knee again.
But that’s not Ebony Young.
Someone once said: “Perseverance is pressing on toward the goal to win and compete despite any obstacles or downfalls the world throws your way. It is never giving up and trying for just one more time.”
The person who said that is Ebony Young, and in vintage Young form, being true to her words, she returned – again.
She couldn’t leave the game she grew up on, the game that taught her about respect, teamwork and leadership. She couldn’t leave the game that has molded her as a person and brought her so much joy over the years.
Now she was rehabilitating the other knee and preparing for another go-around, only this time with a new coaching staff. It wasn’t just about battling against her knees, but battling to prove her worth to a new set of coaches. The new coaching staff only knew her as the twice-injured guard with two bad knees. She was facing an uphill battle.
In her senior year, on a guard heavy team, behind fellow seniors Mandy Close and Anita Rivera along with junior Casey Nash, she saw action in only eight games. She finished the season with just 16 total points in 22 minutes of action.
But that didn’t discourage Young. She petitioned the NCAA to get her freshman year of eligibility back to give it one more shot. All she wanted was one more chance compete and win.
In her last season at Oregon State, she blossomed into the emotional leader of a team with just nine players, five of whom are freshmen. She has helped this team focus in close games, fight from being down, and play smart with the lead. This season she has seen limited action in nine games, but received roaring cheers from fans who respect her dedication to the game and to the Beavers.
On senior night, Young said goodbye to Oregon State, and as this season comes to a close, so does the college career of one of the biggest ballers and most determined basketball players I have ever seen.
If you asked Ebony Young what the meaning of a true baller was, my bet is she wouldn’t tell you it’s about dropping 40 points a night, dominating opponents, or being the player everyone talks about. It’s about doing what you do regardless of the obstacles in your way.
Sure, she isn’t the player that is on the floor for 35 minutes, scoring in double figures, or single-handedly shutting down the opposition, but like always, she is portraying a true baller. She is doing her thing, consistently, no worries.
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