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Oklahoma beats Kansas for commitment of five-star Trae Young

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League

Trae Young , Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images

Getty Images

Trae Young announced on Wednesday that he will be playing his college basketball for Oklahoma, picking the hometown Sooners over Kansas.

Young, who played his high school ball in Norman, Okla., was a teammate of Michael Porter Jr., one of the top prospects in the Class of 2017, playing AAU for MoKan Elite. That team won Peach Jam in 2016.

Young is a top 25 prospect and a five-star recruit. He plays the point and can work as a facilitator, but generally speaking he’s at his best when he gets a chance to be a lead guard and play with the ball in his hands. A streaky shooter, Young showed during last summer’s live period that he can be one of the nation’s elite shooters. It’s probably not a coincidence that playing on an Oklahoma team where he will be the star was more appealing than sharing a back court - and potentially coming off the bench - for a Kansas team with Malik Newman and, like, Devonte’ Graham.

Oklahoma, a year removed from a Final Four, is just 9-16 on the season as they try and rebuild from a talented senior class’s graduation. The Sooners do have a young core on their roster right now, headlined by Kristian Doolittle and Kameron McGusty, and have Brady Manek and three-star center Hannes Pöllä currently committed to the program.