Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners land highly-touted point guard Trae Young

Long Kruger and Oklahoma basketball landed in-state five-star 2017 point guard Trae Young.

2017 five-star point guard Trae Young has committed to the University of Oklahoma, he announced Thursday afternoon. Young decided on the Sooners over Kansas, Oklahoma State, and others.

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The Norman, Oklahoma native is ranked as the No. 18 player in the senior class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He ranks as the No. 3 point guard among senior prospects. He is the consensus top player from the state of Oklahoma.

Young is widely known for his incredible scoring ability at all three levels. He is able to knock down the three-pointer as well as anyone in his class. While he is often criticized for not being a facilitator, Young was able to average 7.1 assists per game during the 2016 Nike EYBL to go along with 21.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Young is reportedly averaging over 43 points per game this high school season while playing for Norman North.

It seemed as if Young looked to head to Lawrence next season until Thursday morning. The 247Sports Crystal Ball suddenly fell in Oklahoma’s favor, as 88 percent of experts predicted the Sooners would land Young.

Young has huge shoes to fill as a guard in Norman next year. The 6’2″, 170-pound point man has to replace Buddy Hield, an elite shooting guard who entered the 2016 NBA Draft. Hield was chosen sixth overall in 2016. He ranks second among all-time scorers at Oklahoma. Additionally, Young has to replace senior Jordan Woodard, Oklahoma’s current leading scorer.

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Young joins 4-star power forward Brady Manek and 3-star Hannes Polla as the trio of 2017 commitments for Lon Kruger and his staff. Young is regarded as the highest-ranked recruit Oklahoma has landed since Blake Griffin.