A bit of a déjà vu feeling for Oklahoma basketball. Three years ago, the Sooners were locked in a battle with national powers for a five-star prospect in their own backyard.

Lon Kruger and company won that one. Norman North’s Trae Young went on to set college basketball on fire for one season, leading the nation in scoring and assists. He left after one season and had an outstanding rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks last year.

Fast forward to this weekend, and the Sooners are in this spot once again. A five-star in-state guard where OU is absolutely a legitimate candidate.

Even as Young was dazzling the nation, there were whispers in the state’s basketball circles that Tulsa Booker T. Washington combo guard Bryce Thompson was going to become the next big thing.

He was good then, but he’s become great since then. A natural scorer and shooter, Thompson has added muscle to his frame. He has become a much better passer and finisher at the rim. And maybe the one thing, above all else, is his leadership.

He’s become that five-star can’t-miss prospect, and OU is ready to take its final crack at trying to get Thompson to Norman.

Thompson has already made official visits to Oklahoma State, Texas, North Carolina and Kansas. All that’s left? Yep, time to go to OU this weekend.

He’s been a frequent visitor to Norman for unofficial visits in recent years, but this is OU’s chance to put all the pieces together and show Thompson why he needs to be a Sooner.

“With the unofficials I don't really get the chance to hang with the players,” Thompson told Rivals.com earlier this week. “The officials I get to hang with them and those are going to be my teammates going forward. I like to see how they act and how they conduct themselves. If they are in the gym, if they are doing this, if they are doing that.”

Recruits recognize what Kruger did with Young. He didn’t try to alter his game and make him become something he’s not. That type of freedom was part of the appeal for freshman guard De’Vion Harmon in picking OU for the 2019 class.

It could have the same result for Thompson in 2020.

“Great, great,” said Thompson about his relationship with Kruger. “I've been talking to him for a while, for a long time. We've built that relationship for years and he's a great coach. He did great things with Trae Young, so that's a plus.”

It won’t be easy. Although he’s made those four other visits, multiple sources believe this will be a three-team race between OU, KU and North Carolina. The Sooners beating the Jayhawks for Young felt nuts to say three years ago. Could they really do it again?

Connections matter. No doubt KU is going to be tough to beat because of Thompson’s father, Rod Thompson, and his connection with head coach Bill Self. Rod Thompson can assure his son whatever Self is saying is actually true.

There were plenty of reasons for OU to hire Alvin “Pooh” Williamson as an assistant coach, but it definitely doesn’t hurt the connection he has with the entire Thompson family. Father, mother, and Bryce.

Once upon a time, it looked like KU was a lock. Then it felt like OU was making a solid push. As schools like UNC and Michigan State made their mark in the spring, it opened things back up.

Thompson won’t be alone this weekend as his teammate, three-star guard Trey Phipps, will also be making his OU official visit. Only difference there is Phipps is already committed to the Sooners, and Phipps would love for his high school teammate to become his college one, too.

In an ideal world, OU would be done by just signing the Hornets. The Sooners don’t want much for 2020, just a couple of big-time guards. Phipps and Thompson would be a check and a check.

“After every visit I'm like, oh I want to go there. Then the next visit, I want to go there,” Bryce Thompson said. “So it's going to be tough. I just have to remember how I feel after all of the visits and just look at everything.”

Thompson’s plan is to take the OU visit and then sort it all out. The early basketball signing period is next month, and it sounds like he wants to make his call before then.

OU has been waiting in the wings, patiently watching what Thompson has been doing and the visits he’s been making. Now? It’s the Sooners’ turn and their attempt to seal the deal.