Trae Young in person

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jaymOU

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I saw Trae play the last two nights in Tulsa. My observations:

1) better defensively than I thought. Quick hands and the desire to guard the other teams best / hottest player. Several steals and has a chance to be a very good college defender.

2) attitude was excellent- despite not having a great supporting cast. He encouraged teammates and was respectful of the opponents. Even in defeat. Congratulated BA tonight after loss.

3) fast and fearless with the ball, is NOT, just a jump shooter! Superb vision and made passes teammates were not ready for. Better athlete than what I was lead to believe.

4) takes too many long threes for my liking, but his range is ridiculous. Shot even from deep is effortless. Has all 3 phases of offense 3 ball, pull-ups and floaters in mid-range and finishes with either hand around the bucket.

I think his best attribute for OU next year might be his swagger. He will bring a different energy - reminiscent of Jordan at WVU this year. I don't think starting at OU from day one will be too big for him!

I can't wait and hope he is the missing link!
 
Yeah I watched him play Friday night against MWC. I agree with all your assessments. He is really quick and should be a solid defender. He and Embery were really going at it at times.

He is really slippery to guard with his studder step moves that allows him to get some seperation from his defender. This allows him to get off a quick jumper. I totally agree with you...he takes way too many deeeeeppppp 3's it seems like. You can tell he has range...but it just seems like he could get a higher % shot off if he was a little more patience. I love long ball shooters...I loved Calvin Curry and Brent Price, etc., but a couple of his long range shots were just bad shots. A couple of them, he was falling away..and was 7-8 ft behind the line. I can see it if the shot clock is winding down...but he hadn't even made a pass yet to look for a better shot. It will be interesting to see if he does that next year. I can't see any college coaches being okay with that, unless you are hitting 50% of them.

His passing ability was his biggest asset to me. That and ballhandling. A couple of his passes were TO's, because his teammates simply couldn''t handle them. I can't wait to see him in an OU uniform and playing with better talent. I totally see him taking us to the next level with the way he can run a team. Again, I don't mind some deep shots...but I would say he needs to tighten up the shot selection a tad at the next level...and he will be fine.
 
excellent observations by both.

I will admit to some selfishness as I breathed a sigh of relief that his chances to be injured in a game are done. at least until he gets here.

I like hearing about his game.
 
Thanks for all the observations, great to hear about his defense. I have a kind of a random question about him... Anybody ever seen him dunk?

Also, any other Manek observations would be nice. And Polla! Kidding..
 
I also saw the Norman North (NN) – Midwest City (MWC) game Friday night and concur with the above observations. I would add ...

Trae has very good court vision and a “natural feel” for the game; or good basketball savvy. He fills the stat sheet with points and assists.

Trae had quite a few turnovers, but it appeared to me that he was taking risks, at times, since NN does not have much of a supporting cast. MWC had a much more complete team, with several good 3-point shooters and several players that could slash to the basket. Keyshawn Embery (6-3 shooting guard) is a load on the wing for MWC and finally asserted himself with aggressiveness at the offensive end in the 4th quarter. MWC and Embery had the advantage of having quicker, more athletic teammates that made positive plays. Many of the NN baskets by other players happened because Trae handed out a slick assist, as he demanded the full attention of the MWC defense.

In high school, Trae is really hard to guard one-on-one, even by the athletic MWC players. He has the moves, change of pace and direction, and subtle quickness to out-maneuver almost any individual defender. He also showed some very good body control. I would describe him as a smooth athlete. He can create his own shot. No worries there. He can score the ball.

I did not see Trae dunk, but it should be no problem. I did see him “sky” for some rebounds. He showed some hops. In the 4th quarter when MWC was shooting free throws, Trae was positioned on-the-block nearest the basket, to get the rebound on missed free throws. NN was not blessed with big players, but their team was scrappy and played hard. I know in other games Stoops was the secondary scorer for NN, but he was shooting air-balls against the athletic MWC defense.

Trae also used his court vision to get some nice steals on intercepted passes. He seems to see and recognize what is going on in the flow of the game.

My number one impression: Trae is a FUN player to watch. It will be SO MUCH FUN going to the LNC to watch this young man play basketball. He can score in so many different ways, including smooth floaters and slick bank-shots from the short-wing area. I am SO HAPPY he is a SOONER.
 
Thanks, guys, for a great look through your eyes at OU's next McDonald's All-American! I've got a feeling the LNC will be rocking next season when the word spreads about the excitement Trae will generate when he's running our offense.

Terrific report!!!
 
Regarding Brady Manek, Harrah did beat Seminole 61-58 last night, so Manek will be playing in the State Tournament quarterfinals in the OKC area on Thursday. I do not yet know where the quarterfinal games for Class 4A will be played.

Given that Harrah does NOT run an offense that fully utilizes Brady Manek's offensive skills, I will be surprised if they win their quarterfinal game. I don't know why, but Harrah does not pass the ball to Manek very often. Instead, their guards opt to jack up jump shots without trying to work the ball inside.

Keep this in mind if you go to watch Manek play. It will be frustrating because the Harrah offense wastes his wonderful ability to score.

Come on fellows. Pass him the ball. Please!
 
Traveler well done. Keep them coming as you have them.
 
jmizzy4ou said:
Good stuff
Click to expand...

jmizzy, where the heck have you been? I know you too well to believe a season like the one we're having now kept you away. You're too tough minded for that. ;)

I know you have made a few "camo" appearances throughout the season, but you haven't been around as much as before. Good to see you back, my friend!
 
Manek is a good shooter not physical and soft. If he gets tougher, he can help OU.
 
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