Oklahoma Sooners freshman point guard Trae Young put college hoops, and NBA scouts, on notice last night when he tied the NCAA record for most assists in a game with 22 in OU's win against Northwestern State. And it only took him 29 minutes.
Young, who scored 26 points last night, also became the first player in two decades to record at least 20 points and 20 assists in the same game.
According to ESPN, Young's 22 assists tied a single-game record, shared by Syracuse's Sherman Douglas (1989), Southern's Avery Johnson (1988) and Charleston Southern's Tony Fairley (1987).
The 6'2, 180-pounder currently leads all Division I players in points per game, 28.5 PPG and assists 10.2. Coming out of high school in Oklahoma, he was ranked 23rd in ESPN's Top 100 and averaged 42.6 points and 4.1 assists as a senior.
"I just wanted to open people's eyes," Young said Tuesday night. "This is why I came here, to be able to play my game. I'm really not doing anything different than what I did in high school -- it's just on a bigger stage. I'm just so happy to be winning with my teammates."
"I'm really not surprised by what I've been able to do so far this season," Young said. "I put in a lot of work, a lot of preparation."
Young's outstanding performances so far this season has the 17th ranked Sooners sitting at 9-1 on the season. According to ESPN, he already has four games with at least 20 points and 10 assists this season, which is as many as anyone had in D-I last season.
Check out some of the highlights and reactions to his epic performance.