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In addition to signing on as the Sooners’ assistant general manager, Young donated $1 million. When asked where that donation will go, Young didn’t hesitate in his answer. “I mean, to these players,” Young said. “For me, that’s what it’s all about, is these players and helping them achieve their dreams. And I know that’s going to help get the type of players that we need and we want.”
Tom Green: BREAKING: NBA All-Star Trae Young is joining Oklahoma as assistant general manager for basketball, becoming the second active NBA player to take on such an administrative role after Steph Curry was named assistant GM at Davidson earlier this month. Young is also donating $1 million to the Sooners.
Although the University of Oklahoma was a Nike school during his one-and-done season spent starring for the Sooners, the school is now one of the key featured Jumpman partner programs across the NCAA landscape. “Oklahoma became a Jordan Brand school in 2018 right after I entered the NBA Draft,” reflected Young. “I remember thinking, ‘I wish I had the chance to rock the Jumpman in college.’ But it’s all come full circle.” Between integrations with the program’s current athletes and potentially donning Sooner exclusive sneakers on the pro hardwood, “there will be opportunities for OU and I to come together,” beamed Young.
Jalon Moore, the Sooners' leading rebounder and third-leading scorer this season, announced Saturday he plans to enter the NBA Draft while leaving open the possibility of returning to OU for a second season.
Jeff Goodman: Grant Sherfield told @Stadium he will withdraw from the NBA draft and attend Oklahoma this season. Huge news for the Sooners.
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Reaves, who went undrafted, played two seasons with the Sooners after redshirting following a transfer from Wichita State. He averaged 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists in 25 games with the Sooners last season, earning All-Big 12 first-team honors. During his first season with the program, a graduate assistant approached him one day and then proceeded to give him the “Hillbilly Kobe” nickname. It would eventually stick with him. He came up to me one day and was like, ‘I figured it out.’ I was like, ‘What are you even talking about?’ He was like, ‘HBK.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘Hillbilly Kobe.’ Then, one of the teammatesheard it and it stuck. For three years, that’s what they said around just Oklahoma and then I guesspeople caught wind of it elsewhere. I mean, it is what it is. I just move forward from it.
Ky Carlin: According to a league source, Austin Reaves is working out for the Sixers this week. Reaves was First Team All-Big 12 this season and led the Oklahoma Sooners in points, rebounds, and assists. #Sixers
Gabe Ikard was an All-American lineman for the Oklahoma Sooners. Now retired from football, the longtime Thunder fan co-hosts Franchise Players for 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma City. Those dual titles grant him solid insight on the psyche of the fanbase. "Durant's departure to the Golden State Warriors resulted in the biggest backlash to a player's free-agency decision in the history of sports," Ikard said. "I'm not quite sure he expected that extreme of a reaction. I'm not sure Oklahomans thought that they would react so severely to his decision either. "But," he added, "no one thought it would be Golden State. I find it hard to believe people that say they would not welcome him back," Ikard said. "It's easy to call him a snake and cupcake now. But if he was dropping 40-plus in Thunder blue again, a lot of fans would find forgiveness quickly."
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In the end, I have to make the decision that I believe is best for me, but it doesn't mean I do so without a heavy heart, without some regret that we won't get to run it back together next season. As a kid at the Norman YMCA, I dreamed of making the shot to lead the Sooners to a national championship. But I dreamed of the NBA too, playing against the best players in the world, and it's time for me. I'll never forget the mornings with my dad at the Y, 5:30 a.m. in the pool, the weight room and getting up 100, 200 shots, before showering and hustling off to school. After high school practice and homework, my days ended at the YMCA too: more shots in an empty gym, more work before going home and watching NBA games until bedtime.
Had Buddy Hield not telephoned his mother the morning of April 24, 2015, his final year of collegiate wonderment and achievement never would have transpired. That day at 7 a.m. is when Hield decided he would bypass the 2015 NBA Draft and return for his senior season at the University of Oklahoma. “It really was a gut decision, a gut feeling about what would be best for me,” Hield explained at the time. “I feel like it’s the best decision for me, the best decision for my family. I’m with a great team, a great university, great fans.”
Last year, Hield was viewed as a fringe second-round pick in a draft that selects only 60 players worldwide. “I probably would have been drafted and gone to the (NBA’s) D-League,” said Hield, who was told ballhandling was his biggest shortcoming. “I want to go there when I’m ready, be more efficient, so everything can be on point.”
Griffin played pickup Friday, giving the left knee he injured during Olympic Team training its first real test since arthroscopic surgery July 16. "Felt good," he reported. Griffin's brother, Taylor, came along to hoop it up with the Sooners and even get a workout or two in. The plan was to finish by mid-Saturday afternoon, do some tailgating with the family and watch the Sooners play football against Florida A&M.