Young needs to bounce back
With an NCAA Tournament berth slipping away, Oklahoma needs freshman phenom Trae Young to bounce back from his recent shooting slump.
LAWRENCE, KAN. — Trae Young believes that moment is coming.
The moment when he hits a big shot and suddenly he’s the Trae Young that was the college basketball darling in early January vs. the Trae Young that’s become, well, human over the last month.
“Usually when stretches go on like this, there’s always that one game or that moment when it clicks on, so hopefully that moment’s coming up,” Young said after Oklahoma’s 10474 loss Monday night at Kansas.
Young had his toughest game as a Sooner, going 3 of 13 from the field and making just one 3-pointer in finishing with a season-low 11 points.
In the first 19 games of Young’s collegiate career, he scored 20 or more points 18 times. The only exception was the season opener against Omaha, where he had 15 points and 10 assists.
In the last eight games — seven Sooners losses — he’s been held to less than 20 points four times. Before Monday, though, he hadn’t scored fewer than 17 since the season opener.
Young insists he isn’t tiring, that he isn’t worn out from the grind of a so-far 27 game season that includes a doubleround robin through the deep Big 12.
Defenses have adjusted to him, he says. Teams are guarding him with multiple defenders and cutting off the lanes that were available to him just a few weeks ago before this slide began.
Against the Jayhawks, Kansas moved big man Udoka Azubuike up near the free-throw line often, making it difficult for Young to find space for the floater that had been so effective for him much of the season, and also presenting problems for Young in getting to the rim.
Azubuike blocked three shots — all by Young. Young had one more shot blocked by Kansas early in the game.
“He got to the paint, their guys contested in there,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “So we just have to go find that sweet spot for him where he feels good about being able to finish.”
Young says he had stretches like this before, and he isn’t worried about shaking out of it.
“I’ve played a lot of basketball throughout my life, and it’s not always been good,” Young said. “I’ve had stretches like this in my AAU career — my first year in the EYBL, playing up, 17-U, going to Peach Jam, we lost all of our games. I’m not too worried. This happens to everybody. I’ll be fine.”
Outside of Young, the Sooners were better than 50 percent from the floor against the Jayhawks.
He’s shot 33.3 percent or worse in each of the last four games.
“I just haven’t been knocking down shots,” Young said. “A lot of them have been going in and out, just short or long. I’ve got to focus. I’ve got to focus.“
With just three games left in the regular season and an NCAA Tournament berth apparently slipping away, the Sooners need more than ever for Young to snap out of his recent funk.