Women's Basketball | 3/9/2026 11:26:00 AM

DURHAM, N.C. – Like father, like daughter.

Twenty-two years ago, David Young was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2004 NBA draft after lighting up the scoreboard in his only season at North Carolina Central. Young averaged 20.5 points and led the Eagles to the CIAA Men's Basketball Tournament finals.

Now, his daughter is carving out her own chapter at the same school.

Nia Young transferred to NCCU this season from UNC Charlotte and became a key contributor off the bench. She is part of an Eagles' reserve unit that ranks among the top 15 nationally in bench points per game.

It is no coincidence that she landed at NCCU.

"I reached out before I entered the portal," Nia said. "I wanted to come here. Being that my dad was here, I wanted to come here and have an HBCU experience."

A Charlotte, N.C. resident, David rarely missed a home game this season. Watching his daughter play on the same court where he once sparkled as a collegian has been surreal.

"It brings back memories," David said. "It was good to see people, but I don't think they put two and two together yet. I don't think people really know. I had good times there. I am grateful for everything Central provided me."

After three seasons at Xavier, David - who played alongside future NBA champion David West - transferred to NCCU for the 2003-04 season. His breakout senior year with the Eagles drew interest from NBA scouts and led to his selection by Seattle, now the Oklahoma City Thunder.

David was the first NCCU player drafted in 21 years and the seventh Eagle selected in school history.

While her father was a prolific scorer, Nia is making an impact in a different way.

Durable and dependable, she has played in every game this season, averaging 4.2 points and nearly one steal in 16 minutes per contest heading into the MEAC Tournament in Norfolk, Va.

The redshirt senior scored a season-high 13 points in a three-point loss to Wake Forest of the ACC and pumped in 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in a win over William Peace.

Opposing guards struggle with her 6-0 height and length on the perimeter. The Eagles are among the nation's top 15 teams in forcing turnovers.

"She is a three-level scorer," NCCU Head Coach Terrence Baxter said. "She loves that jump shot but she doesn't know how good her drive is."

Assistant Coach Cassie King played a pivotal role in Nia coming to NCCU. King knew David from their college days and remembered him as a relentless scorer who attacked the basket.

"What I remember about D.Y. is him dunking, and the rim shaking," said King, an NCCU and CIAA Hall of Fame member who is the school's career women's scoring leader. "She has the same similarities. She can play any position but I think she is best at going to the rim just like her daddy did. He reached out before I got the job here. I have a special place for Nia because I know her dad. I knew if she had any of his genes, she would be a go-getter."

"He posted on Instagram that she was going to Central," King added. "When I told her I knew her daddy, when I explained how, her eyes got big."

Baxter saw Nia play during her prep years at Leesville Road High School, where she emerged as a Division I college recruit out of Raleigh, N.C. At the time, Baxter was the women's basketball coach at Catawba.

Little did Baxter know that he would coach her at NCCU.

"I saw her play in AAU," Baxter said. "I was coaching in Division II and I knew she was going D-I. I didn't spend much time recruiting her because she was a level above me. I knew nothing about the dad until I started talking to her and her parents. I was shocked but happy that she wanted to come here."

Many of Nia's teammates weren't even born when David starred for the Eagles.

"I mentioned it to my teammates and they were like, whoa, what?!," Young said. "And then I showed them his picture on the arena wall near the locker room. I think it is cool. I don't go out and say it but I think it is pretty cool."

Her choice pleased David, a torrid scorer from New Castle, Pa. David became the career scoring leader at New Castle High School and named USA Today Mr. Basketball in Pennsylvania. He is in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame.

After a modest career at Xavier, the 6-5 guard transferred to NCCU with one year of eligibility left.

"I sent them a VHS tape," David said. "I wanted to hoop another year and didn't want to sit out. My mom lived in Durham. I saw Flip Murray get drafted and I said let me go to this league and see what happens."

At the time, NCCU competed in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), a Division II conference that includes Shaw, where Murray starred before being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2002. Murray was named Division II Player of the Year at Shaw.

The decision paid off for David, who earned All-CIAA and All-CIAA Tournament honors with the Eagles. He nearly led the Eagles to the CIAA championship after his three-point buzzer beater topped Elizabeth City State in the tourney's first round. His 20.5 scoring average ranks ninth all-time in program history.

David remains the last Division II player from an HBCU to be drafted into the NBA.

Nia didn't know it at the time but she was part of the Eagles' family while David was at NCCU. She was just a baby while David and her mom Tionda Holt, a former college basketball player, lived in Durham.

"I tell Nia, 'I used to come home from practice and had to watch you," David said. "At your age, I was changing your diapers."

David never appeared in an NBA game but carved out an impressive professional career in the D-League and overseas. Basketball took him and his family to five countries - Greece, Japan, Italy, France and Montenegro - and he was one of top scorers in the D-League, now the G League.

"I watched my dad play in Japan around 6-7 years old," Nia said. "My dad was that guy."

Nia spent her childhood overseas and later embraced basketball as a teenager.

"They [family] never pushed me, but when I was serious about it, they invested in me," Nia said. "Me and my mom used to go to the gym together up until high school. We used to play one-on-one. She stopped after I started whupping her (laughing). She was salty but she knew I was about to become a different type of player. She was really proud, honestly. Anytime my dad could, he would train me. He taught the game to me as well."

Nia spent four years at UNC Charlotte after high school. She graduated with a finance degree but her collegiate basketball career didn't take off quite as she hoped, reminiscent of David's experience at Xavier.

Hence, the phone call to King.

"I guess she wanted to follow the same path," David said.

Nia is comfortable in an HBCU environment and enjoys competing with her teammates. Her parents and grandparents have been to almost every home game.

"There is no pressure," Nia said. "My dad doesn't want to put any pressure on me. He wants me to just have fun and play the game where he also had fun and played the game. My dad is one of my biggest inspirations. It's just an honor to play here behind him, back in Durham."