Trae Young Leaving Oklahoma to Enter 2018 NBA Draft

Freshman sensation Trae Young is leaving the University of Oklahoma after one season and entering the 2018 NBA Draft, becoming OU’s first one-and-done player.

He has not signed with an agent but intends to secure representation soon, which will forfeit any remaining college eligibility.

In a letter published on ESPN in Young’s voice to Adrian Wojnarowski, Young reflected on his time as a Sooner and cited double-and-triple teams (!) as the key to his growth as a person and player.

I’ve been preparing most of my life to join the NBA, and that time has come for me now: After an unforgettable year at the University of Oklahoma, I will enter the June NBA draft and fully immerse myself in the pursuit of a pro basketball career.

Coach Lon Kruger and his staff started to recruit me as a ninth-grader at Norman North High School, and I trusted him from the beginning. As much as anything, Coach Kruger taught me about poise, about handling pressure and difficult circumstances with calm and clear-mindedness. My teammates at OU were incredible. Sometimes, they absorbed criticism that was beyond unfair. The double- and triple-teams that swarmed me at Oklahoma forced me to become tougher, smarter and more determined as a player and person.

Young, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Norman, entered the 2017-18 campaign off draft boards and largely off the radar for the unranked Sooners. However he finished the season as the nation’s leader in both points and assists, earning himself NBA lottery projection and the Sooners a top-5 ranking during the season in the process.

Young averaged 27.4 points and 8.7 assists and led the Sooners to an NCAA Tournament appearance one year removed from an 11-20 campaign. He picked the home town Sooners over Oklahoma State, Kansas and Kentucky in his recruitment.