Norman North’s Young signs on with Sooners

Trae Young might’ve been across the country Wednesday, but he sealed a commitment to stay close to home.

Young, the Norman North point guard and five-star recruit, signed with Oklahoma while in New York to participate in Friday’s Jordan Brand Classic.

As Young signed his letter of intent, he said, “Boomer Sooner” as longtime friend and AAU teammate Michael Porter Jr. looked on.

“Trae is a terrific allaround player and will be a great addition to our program,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said in a statement. “He can obviously score a lot of points, but more importantly he is all about winning and making his teammates better. He has grown up a Sooner fan and gotten to know our players very well over the past few years. His decision to attend the University of Oklahoma speaks to Trae’s loyalty to his hometown and university, and his confidence in his new teammates.” Young averaged 42.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists as a senior, earning McDonald’s All-American honors.

Oklahoma went 11-20 last season, struggling just a year removed from a Final Four appearance.

But Young was enticed to remain in Norman by a young core that showed promise even through their struggles.

Young is expected to step in as the starting point guard to join a group that includes Kameron McGusty, Rashard Odomes, Kristian Doolittle and Khadeem Lattin.

Only Lattin will be a senior on next year’s team and McGusty and Doolittle will be sophomores.

Young joins a signing class which also features Harrah forward Brady Manek and 6-foot-11 Finnish center Hannes Polla. Both signed in November during the early signing period.

The Sooners are expected to add at least one more player for next season, likely a graduate transfer. Rice’s Egor Koulechov visited Norman over the weekend and is expected to visit Florida this weekend before making his decision.