Oklahoma's Trae Young entered the weekend as the leading candidate for National Player of the Year. And now he'll exit it with an even bigger gap between himself and the rest of the field thanks to another incredible performance.
This time it came at TCU.
The freshman point guard sank the game-winning free throws with 7.9 seconds remaining and finished with 39 points and 14 assists in Oklahoma's 90-89 win over the previously undefeated Horned Frogs. It represented the second time in the past three weekends that Young has led the Sooners to a win on the road against a nationally ranked opponent. And it immediately garnered high praise.
Here's one example:
Trae Young is the best freshman college guard I have ever seen.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 30, 2017
Whether Young actually is the best freshman guard of Bill Simmons' lifetime is debatable, obviously. But here's what's remarkable about that tweet: It's a completely reasonable opinion. Even in a world filled with hyperbole, especially hyperbole on social media, there is nothing hyperbolic about a prominent media member saying he's never seen anything like Young.
I know I've never seen anything like Young.
The 6-foot-2 point guard has scored at least 30 points in five of Oklahoma's 12 games. He got 43 points in a win over Oregon. He got 22 assists in a win over Northwestern State. And he's now averaging 29.6 points and 10.7 assists in 32.3 minutes per contest while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range. Which means he's leading the nation in points and assists while shooting good percentages.
And he's doing it all for a great team.
Yes, the Sooners were picked sixth in the preseason Big 12 poll. But that seems silly now that they're ranked 12th in the AP poll courtesy of an 11-1 record featuring wins at No. 8 Wichita State and No. 10 TCU. Nobody else has two road wins over top-10 teams. And it's starting to look like Oklahoma could be the biggest threat to Kansas's 13-year run of Big 12 titles.
If you're wondering, KU and OU play Jan 23.
The rematch is Feb. 19.
Between now and then, basically every Oklahoma game is worthy of basketball fans' eyes. And an NBA scouts' attention. Because Young has established himself as a must-watch college star and legitimate candidate to go in the top five of the 2018 NBA Draft.
He established himself as both of those things weeks ago, honestly. Saturday's big effort at TCU simply served as the latest reminder. And what's crazy is that his 39-point,14-assist performance in a road win over a top-10 team isn't even the biggest college basketball story of the day -- somewhat because top-ranked Villanova got caught at Butler, but mostly because Trae Young posting big numbers in big wins is just kind of normal now.
