How Norman North fared after Trae Young graduated
Bryan Merritt walked into the Norman North gym for practice to see the stands already had a few spectators.
Even though this had become a fairly regular occurrence, Division I college coaches stopping by to see his star player Trae Young, it still made for a tense practice whenever John Calipari, Bill Self and Tubby Smith just happened to drop by.
“All this stuff that circled around the team and it was hard to deal with it,” Merritt said. “This year, basketball is just basketball again.”
Having a top recruit in the nation can shine a big spotlight on your team. But when that star is as electric and polarizing as Young is, sometimes that spotlight shines just a bit too bright.
“Some days were distracting,” junior forward Shemar Smith said. “Just felt like we weren’t clicking at all.”
Flash forward a year and Young is now a star at Oklahoma, leading the nation in points and assists, the winner of the Wayman Tisdale Award for the nation’s top collegiate freshman.
And his old Norman North team?
“People thought we were going to suck,” Smith said. “Surprise!”
The Timberwolves are humming along, entering the Class 6A state tournament on Thursday as the No. 2 ranked team with a 24-2 record.
Norman North’s failure last year seemed to fall squarely on the rest of the team around Young, especially his coaches.
But after that disappointment and the graduation of Young, the expectations for Norman North entering the season were practically non-existent, which allowed Merritt to refocus his guys.
“I got to hang it over their head every day,” Merritt said. “People don’t think you are going to be any good.
“What are you going to do to prove them wrong?”
A veteran bunch of returners, led by senior guards Juwan White, Drake Stoops and forward Jalen Crutchfield, plus the addition of Smith (who sat out last year after breaking his arm) has Norman North not only in contention, but one of the hottest teams entering the tournament this weekend.
The Timberwolves look like the Golden State Warriors at times on the court this season, dropping 3-pointers like there is no tomorrow.
During the regional championship against Edmond Memorial, Norman North hit 13-of-18 from downtown in the first half.
Merritt said his team found their rhythm early in the season as guys who weren’t used to shouldering the scoring load, quickly became nightly contributors.
“Ultimately it’s how the team fits together and how they play together,” Merritt said. “This is not an individual sport. We fit together better now.”
Juwan White, who was the second-leading scorer behind Young last year, is now leading the team in points per game at 16.1.
White thinks it’s all a difference in demeanor.
“All of us are bought into each other,” White said. “I think we all really, really want to win and I think we’ll do whatever it takes to win as a team.”
White said he keeps up with Young, the two exchange Twitter direct messages every few weeks.
Merritt said his guys love Young and are thrilled to see the success he’s having at OU.
But that hasn’t stopped them from getting the same question all season.
Is Norman North a better team this season without Trae Young?
For Smith, he said it’s a question that doesn’t need answering.
“Trae is doing him,” Smith said. “And we are doing us.”