Trae Young, PG, Oklahoma
2017-2018 statistics: 27.4 PPG, 8.7 APG, 3.9 RPG
Chances are you’ve heard of Trae Young, college basketball’s most electrifying shooter. He’s been compared to Stephen Curry more times than I can count, so hyping up Young really isn’t necessary. What you need to know about Young is what happened during the second half of his season.
Young became in overnight sensation in November, when he scored 43 points against Oregon in just the fifth game of his career. Not even a month later, Young had recorded a 20-20 game, consisting of 26 points and 22 assists.
But here’s the thing with Young.
He averaged 30.1 points and 10.0 assists on 40.7% shooting from three for the first 16 games of the season — colossal numbers for a freshman, let alone any player.
In contrast though, over the final 16 games of the year, he scored 24.7 points and recorded 7.4 assists on 31% shooting from three.
This should worry a lot of NBA teams, since Oklahoma played their toughest opponents during the second half of the season. And if Young can’t handle better opposition, serious questions could arise about his ability.
Still, with his potential, Young could become a superstar in the early goings of his professional career, making him a target for the Clippers.