Trae Young is NBA ready. Don’t worry about that NCAA tournament loss

After a red-hot start and a lukewarm mid-game, sensational Oklahoma guard Trae Young caught fire late down the stretch of his first NCAA Tournament game against the No. 7 Rhode Island Rams on Thursday. He finished with 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field and eight assists. He scored 18 of the Sooners’ last 26 points.

Unfortunately, Young’s late-game heroics weren’t enough. Rhode Island eliminated Oklahoma in the Round of 64, 83-78 in overtime. It was a disappointing end to a magnificent season from one of college basketball’s brightest stars.

Young started the game with 10 points on four-of-four shooting from the field. It was an early reminder why the 19-year-old Oklahoma native led college basketball in both scoring and assists.

But then he picked up two questionable fouls midway through the first half. The first should have been called a blocking foul but was called a charge. The second was a questionable push-off call at best.

Young was relatively quiet when he returned from foul trouble. He missed each of his next three shots heading into halftime. And then he exploded when the Sooners needed him most.

Unfortunately, his efforts weren’t enough. Rhode Island was ranked higher than Oklahoma in NCAA Tournament seeding and showed they weren’t a one-player act like their opponent. The Rams pelted the Sooners from deep, nailing 11-of-28 attempts. Young scored 18 of his team’s last 26 points, and assisted on a few more, but it wasn’t enough.

Still, NBA scouts should be salivating over the freshman guard expected to be a Top 5 pick in the loaded 2018 NBA Draft. Here’s why:

Down the stretch, we saw Trae Young pull up for three-point shots inside of the March Madness logo. It’s a ridiculous thought, but he almost made a couple of them. The fact that he’s comfortable shooting from that distance almost instantly dispels any notion that he may have any issues adjusting to the 24-foot, nine-inch NBA three-point line. He can shoot those threes in his deepest sleep.

Young finished with eight assists, just short of his season average of 8.8 dimes per game. A few of his assists were dump-off passes at the basket. This one in particular showed his ability to see the entire floor when defenders are collapsing on him:

That’s another thing Young won’t have to work on. He showed an ability to blow by his man by stringing together a few crossovers before making his move to the rim. He can also finish at the basket, which makes his ability to create separation even more deadly.

Eighteen of his team’s final 26 points isn’t a number to scoff at, especially when considering that run stretched from the fourth quarter through overtime. Young is built for crunch time, and he showed that in the NCAA Tournament.

Sure, Trae Young may have been eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but Oklahoma’s loss is hardly his fault. He’s the reason the Sooners made the Tournament in the first place. And whichever lottery team picks him in the upcoming NBA Draft will be better for it.