Villanova adds former Sixers assistant Jamie Young to men’s basketball coaching staff

Young spent the final two seasons of former Sixers’ head coach Doc Rivers’ tenure in Philadelphia, helping the team to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference semifinals

Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune continues to retool both his roster and coaching staff with the latest announcement of former Sixers and Celtics assistant Jamie Young is joining the Wildcats.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Ben Istvan

Published June 20, 2024, 12:43 p.m. ET

Villanova has hired former 76ers aide Jamie Young as an assistant men’s basketball coach.

ESPN first reported the hiring on Thursday. Young, from Logansport, Ind., spent the last two seasons of coach Doc Rivers’ tenure with the Sixers, helping them to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He left the team after Nick Nurse’s arrival last offseason, joining the coaching staff at Le Moyne College during the school’s first Division I campaign.

“Jamie’s knowledge is immense, but what makes him special is his ability to communicate that knowledge to the players,” said Rivers, now the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. “He’s a high-character hard worker who will make an impact. Villanova got a good one.”

Previously, Young worked as an assistant at Greenville University from 1998-2000, then broke into the NBA with the New Jersey Nets as an assistant video coordinator from 2000-01.

Young spent the next two decades with the Boston Celtics, working as the team’s video coordinator starting in 2001 before becoming an advance scout in 2007. He held that role until 2011, when Rivers, then the head coach in Boston, promoted Young to assistant coach.

“Jamie is a great coach and person,” said Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations for the Celtics. “Everyone that has worked with him will rave about Jamie as a teammate. Nobody cares more about the group. In addition, his vast experience as an NBA assistant, coupled with his year at Le Moyne, will allow him to be a great asset to the Villanova staff.”

Young remained a Celtics assistant when Stevens took the reins of the franchise in 2013 but made the move to Philly in 2021 after Ime Udoka was hired in Boston. Young brings a wealth of experience to Kyle Neptune’s staff as Villanova looks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.

“Jamie is an outstanding addition to our coaching staff,” said Neptune, who enters his third season. “He spent more than two decades with elite organizations teaching and helping to develop some of the best players in the world. His knowledge and gift for communicating will only enhance our staff’s ability to help our guys become the best players and men they can be.”