Young's bounce back to be tested in Bedlam
When you’ve set such a standard, it can only take one off performance to make people question what’s going wrong.
Welcome to the world of Oklahoma freshman point guard Trae Young. For most, 20 points, six assists and three steals is a pretty good game. But when you examine the 12 turnovers he had and the poor shooting percentage in OU’s loss at Kansas State, he knows he has to be better.
He’s counting on it.
“That was definitely the worst game I’ve played this season by far,” Young said. “I learned a lot, won’t happen again.”
Young watched the film when the team arrived back in Norman on Tuesday night. He said he went to the gym Tuesday night to get back to work. He watched it again Wednesday. Dissected it with the coaches and the team Thursday, and that’s it. Last time he’s looking at it.
That’s not to say he’s forgetting about what caused the uncharacteristic off night for the best freshman in college basketball. He’s ready to move on, and he has to as do the Sooners.
As cliched as it sounds, Big 12 basketball is a grind. One loss can’t become two, especially heading to Stillwater 1 p.m. CST Saturday for Bedlam against Oklahoma State on ESPN.
The lessons are learned. It’s back to work for Young and the No. 4-ranked Sooners (14-3 overall, 4-2 Big 12).
“I could have made simpler passes,” Young said. “Even the passes that were tipped, they were wide open. I didn’t make the reads I normally make. I’m capable of doing it. I just didn’t do it.”
Life in the Big 12 has been a lot different for Young. It started right toward the end of non-conference play where opposing defenses are deciding that being physical with the Norman product is the best way to get him off his game and wear him down.
It doesn’t always work, but there are little signs of a Young slippage. It’s not necessarily in the points and assists column, but in other ways.
He’s shooting 45 percent from the field for the season but 40 percent in six conference games. He’s 39 percent from the 3-point line for the year but 37 percent in Big 12 action. Eighty-two percent from the free throw line in 17 games but 77 percent in the last six.
Again, not huge, dramatic drops that say Young is hitting a freshman wall. But perhaps a reminder of how important days off are in terms of getting his body right for the grind ahead.
“I’m constantly with the strength coach and making sure my body is as good as it can be,” Young said. “There’s going to be a lot of bumps. That’s part of it. I have to continue to keep my strength up and stay healthy as much as I can throughout the rest of the season.”
Young isn’t hitting the panic button and neither is head coach Lon Kruger. While Kruger will admit Tuesday wasn’t the finest moment for Young or for the team, now’s not the time to stop doing what they’d been doing during the 14-2 start.
“He knows it wasn’t a good one. You don’t have to tell him,” Kruger said. “It was a shared ‘not good’ effort by our guys. I tell Trae the same thing I tell him after the other ones. Focus on getting better, compete like crazy.
“He knows he’s turned the ball over too many times. You don’t need to tell him that. He just has to stay aggressive.”