Summit League standout gives Oakland much-needed boost on offense

Oakland men's basketball has landed another scoring threat.

Western Illinois guard Zion Young announced his transfer to the Golden Grizzlies this week in an Instagram post. He will have two years of eligibility remaining, though it's unclear if he will suit up for Oakland next season or the one after, depending on if he can get a waiver or if the NCAA approves its new transfer rule.

Young, 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds out of Chicago, averaged 13.2 points and 4.5 rebounds this past season, in which he was a regular starter for the Summit League team. As a freshman, he averaged 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds, mostly off the bench until he became a starter late.

He announced his intentions to transfer in early March, and settled on Oakland on Monday.

Oakland has yet to receive the official paperwork, and thus coach Greg Kampe can't comment.

This is the second guard Oakland has landed in recent days, along with junior college transfer Jalen Moore, a third-team All-American this past season out of Olney Central College in Illinois. Moore is expected to be Oakland's point guard next season, after the Golden Grizzlies struggled to settle on a starting point guard most of this past season. He'll be joined in the backcourt by Detroiter Rashad Williams, who transferred from Cleveland State and made a major impact after he was ruled eligible for this past second semester.

Oakland, which often has been an offensive juggernaut during Kampe's tenure, averaged just 67.8 points a game this past season, 272nd in the country.

The Golden Grizzlies were 14-19 last season and lost in the second round of the Horizon League tournament. They then saw six players enter the transfer portal, most notable guard Tray Maddox Jr., who has signed with Cal State-Fullerton.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984