Javian McCollum, Oklahoma Sooners Continue to Flow Into Conference Play
Javian McCollum, the 6-foot-2, self-creating guard for the Oklahoma Sooners, has helped his team immensely in their first 14 games into the season.
Concurrently, he's making a big push to solidify himself as a legitimate second round choice in the 2024 NBA Draft.
If he and the Sooners can continue to compete throughout the Big 12 like they had been in non-conference play, McCollum's stock will consistently rise as he proves himself in one of, if not the best, conferences in the country.
His performance against an always talented Iowa State team, who sat with an 11-2 record prior to Saturday's game versus Oklahoma, again validated his potential as a promising guard to take late in the draft.
Leading all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-16 from the field, along with five assists and a steal, McCollum helped conduct an eight-point victory to take down the Cyclones in each team's conference opener.
This brought Oklahoma's record to 13-1 now on the season, with the Sooners' only loss coming against the No. 8 North Carolina Tarheels, who beat them 81-69 on Dec. 20.
Even in that lone loss, McCollum was still able to produce offensively with 14 points and two treys, but only shooting 35.3% from the field hurt the team down the stretch.
Currently, his efficiency as a shooter has typically ranged anywhere from 30% to 55%, despite a 16.7% outlier in the Sooners' second game of the year against Mississippi Valley State – where he only shot six times and played 23 minutes.
But on the year, he's averaging 45% from the field for 14.7 points per game, leading Oklahoma in scoring only behind Otega Oweh, another projected potential second-round pick for the Sooners.
Another addition to McCollum's game has been his all-around playmaking, especially as of late.
In his last five contests, he's tallied 26 assists – making that 5.2 assists per game, an entire assist more than he averages this season.
As he and Oklahoma continue to roll, McCollum's efficiency as a shot creator, playmaking as a facilitator and overall physicality as an undersized guard will determine how his stock lands come the end of his junior campaign.
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