On April 8, 2022, 17 days after being named Missouri’s head coach, Dennis Gates was back in Columbia sitting in front of a room full of reporters. Wearing a white Mizzou quarter-zip pullover and a gray collared shirt underneath, he was excited to introduce his new associate head coach.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. Gates hired the man sitting to his left to help infuse the Tigers’ men’s basketball team with it.

Charlton “C.Y.” Young wore a gray windowpane suit jacket with a Mizzou pin on his left lapel, a white button-down shirt, a gold necktie and a toothy grin to his introductory press conference. He and Gates spent six seasons together as assistant coaches at Florida State from 2013-19. The Seminoles won six NCAA tournament games during the coaches’ time there, going as far as the Elite Eight in 2018, because of the players they’d helped recruit to the school. Seven went on to play in the NBA during that span.

C.Y. spoke in poems about what it took.

“Recruiting’s like shaving,” he said. “You gotta do it every day.”

After his press conference, C.Y. and the rest of MU’s staff spent the next several weeks constructing a roster that featured just three returners and a dozen newcomers. The team went on to post a 25-10 record in the 2022-23 season and earn Missouri’s first NCAA tournament win in over 13 years. The Tigers signed three top-150 players in Rivals.com's 2023 rankings. They signed five in the 2024 cycle, the class ranking fourth nationally.

C.Y.’s rightfully earned the reputation as one of the country’s best recruiters. It’s one he’s worked hard to forge throughout his 28-year career.

But in almost every case, each commitment he earns is the result of a three- to five-year relationship. C.Y.’s process often starts before a player even realizes just how good he can be.