Oklahoma’s Young dominated stats-wise
Even as the allure of one of the most dazzling first halves of any college basketball season faded, Oklahoma freshman point guard Trae Young still demanded respect as the best player in the country.
“I’m getting guarded like nobody else in the country is being guarded, scouted on like no one else in the country is,” Young told reporters after a loss in late February to Texas, part of his team’s six-game losing streak that recalculated the Sooners’ story line as contender to NCAA tournament bubble team. “It’s a lot tougher for me to score now than it was in the beginning (of the season). It’s a process.”
Young finished the season leading the nation in scoring and assists, a record feat that was slightly overshadowed by the Sooners’ late-season plummet. That plunge might have ultimately cost him USA TODAY’s national player of the year award, which honored winning over statistics.
But it certainly didn’t take away from how historically impressive his freshman campaign was, as the Stephen Curry of college basketball has been named USA TODAY freshman of the year — by a landslide. Although Duke’s Marvin Bagley III had an eye-raising season of his own, it was Young — not Bagley nor heavily hyped-before-injury Michael Porter Jr. — who put up the most staggering numbers (nearly averaging 30 points and 10 assists per game and exploding for more than 45 points four times).
His freshman season is the new hallmark for what one-and-done freshmen will strive toward.