It certainly felt like the 43-point outing by Oklahoma freshman point guard Trae Young last month was his coming out party. What is a great sign for the Sooners, though, is Young isn’t slowing down.

No, he’s not scoring 43 points per game, but Young has handled all the national attention as well as possible in helping OU to a 7-1 start.

Young, the hometown product from Norman North, is averaging 28.8 points per game and 8.8 assists per contest.

“I didn’t expect anything less,” said Young about his fast start. “This is the type of start I wanted to get off to. I’m happy it’s turning out this way.”

Young has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice this season and the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on two occasions. On Monday, Young was named the NCAA Player of the Week for his performances in victories against UTSA and USC.

The honors are coming his way. The notoriety is coming his way, but Young is doing all he can to not let it affect his game, one way or another.

“I don’t let that motivate me or distract me from anything,” Young said. “I stay level-headed.”

OU hoping to ‘shock’ the Shockers

The Sooners are knocking on the door of the AP top 25 and came in at No. 24 in the coaches poll this week.

The task doesn’t get any easier with the Sooners heading to No. 3 Wichita State on Saturday afternoon on ESPN 2.

“They’re very good. They’ve done it year after year after year,” coach Lon Kruger said. “They have their identity. They have their pride and their culture of winning. It’s going to be a great test.”

Kruger said it’s nice for his team to be recognized in the top 25 this week, but everybody understands there is a long way to go. The ranking just shows the progress OU has made in the first month of the season.

Resume-building road win a boost for OU

For the second time in two weeks, OU was able to play essentially a road game against a Pac-12 school and come out victorious.

It was against Oregon in Portland two weeks ago, and the Sooners were able to earn an 85-83 win vs. then-No. 25 USC at Staples Center on Friday evening.

“That was a good road test for us,” Young said. “I took pride in the final five minutes of the game. It was a good learning experience for me. Luckily, we came out with the win. That’s all that matters.”

Junior Christian James scored a career-high 19 points, including connecting on 5-of-6 on his 3-point field goal attempts.

The Sooners led by as many 18 points in the second half, but failed to execute down the stretch and missed some free throws as USC had a chance for a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

“The travel home is better,” Kruger said. “The next few days of practice are better. Had that last three gone in and we lost, it wouldn’t have changed how we played, but we would have felt the complete opposite. It’s good to win and learn.”

Almost time for Doolittle

Oklahoma sophomore forward Kristian Doolittle is expected to return to OU practice Sunday, said Kruger.

Doolittle was originally said to be allowed back on the team Dec. 9, but Kruger cleared up the situation this week. Doolittle won’t be able to play Saturday vs. Wichita State, but then could return.

“He’s going to bring a big spark to us when he gets back,” Young said. “Rebounding, scoring, being another dog inside. He’s such a talented player.”

Doolittle had been under an academic suspension for the first semester and wasn’t able to practice or workout with the team.

“He’s anxious to get back, and we’re glad to have him,” Kruger said.