CBS Sports Ranks Trae Young As One Of The Biggest College Basketball Stars Of The Past 25 Years

Before he became one of the best point guards in the NBA, Trae Young was a superstar at the University of Oklahoma. Young is the only player to ever lead the NCAA in points and assists, doing that in his season in Norman. He was must watch TV while with Oklahoma and guided them to an NCAA Tournament bid after a 14-2 start.

In a recent article, CBS Sports Matt Norlander ranked the biggest stars in college basketball over the last 25 years, Young was ranked No. 16:

College season: 2017-18
Accolades/stats: 2018 NFOY, Consensus First Team A-A, Big 12 FOY, *27.4 ppg, *8.7 apg, 3.9 rpg

"The only player in NCAA history to lead the sport in points and assists in the same season — as a freshman, no less — is a no-brainer for the list. The combo guard was a revelation in the first half of that season, when Oklahoma got out to a 14-2 start. More losses piled up in the second half, but the Sooners still made the NCAA Tournament and Young continued to rack up big numbers. Young's production got so voluminous, ESPN would put his stats on the screen for games he wasn't even playing in, or sometimes do live cut-ins from other games to show him. There was some backlash at the time over this, but it spoke to his star power."

Young was gone on to be one of the best players in Atlanta Hawks history and is currently trying to get Atlanta into the playoffs. Atlanta has won three in a row and four of the last five, while Young was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week yesterday.

In four games played during the week, Young averaged 24.5 points, a league-best 13.0 assists, in addition to 2.8 rebounds in 35.1 minutes of action. He was the only player in the East, and one of only three in the NBA, to average 20-or-more points and 10-or-more assists this past week (min. 3 GP). Young led the Hawks to a 3-1 record, despite facing off against three teams currently ranked top 5 in their respective conferences: Memphis (March 3, 4th in West), Milwaukee (March 4, 4th in East), Indiana (March 6 and March 8, 5th in East).

Young handed out an NBA-best 52 total assists during the week, 14 more than the next closest player in the league (James Harden: 38 assists, 4 GP) and 23 more than the next closest Eastern Conference player (Cade Cunningham: 29 assists, 4 GP). He also owned three of the top 5 highest assisted games this past week by an Eastern Conference player: 16 vs. Indiana (March 6, 1st), 15 at Memphis (t2nd) and 13 vs. Milwaukee (5th).

The Oklahoma product secured three straight point/assist double-doubles, including back-to-back 20-point, 10-assist outings this past week. In the NBA this season, Young owns a league-leading 38 point/assist double-doubles, including a conference-best 26 games with at least 20 points and 10 helpers. The 6-1 guard, who dished out 15+ assists twice this past week (March 3, March 6), leads the league in 15-assist performances this season (14) and owns the most in a single season in franchise history (previously Doc Rivers, 1986-87, 12).

Through 60 games played so far this season, Young is averaging a league-leading 11.5 assists per game, to go along with 23.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals. In addition to leading the NBA in assists per game, and total assists, he also leads all players in total clutch points (150), assists (36), three-pointers (17) and free throws (63).

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