If you haven’t heard of Oklahoma freshman guard Trae Young, you will.
Northwestern will become all too familiar with him Friday night.
“A terrific player,” NU coach Chris Collins said. “Very tough to cover.”
Even tougher if the Wildcats are without Vic Law, their best defender, when they take on the Sooners (9-1) at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. Law did make the Thursday evening trip to Norman, Okla., with his teammates but remains in concussion protocol after taking a spill Saturday at DePaul. He will be tested Friday.
“He’s getting better,” Collins said. “But he has to pass all the steps along the way.”
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Young is the top-rated offensive player in the country, coming off a ridiculous 26-point, 22-assist night against Northwestern State. (Is there a Northwestern Tech the Sooners can play next?)
Young, averaging 28.5 points and 10.2 assists, is shooting 58 percent from 2-point range, 38.3 percent on 3s and 86.2 percent from the line.
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“I’ve seen him a lot in AAU (ball),” Collins said. “He’s a high scorer, so you have to give help, but you can’t give too much because he’s a high-assists guy. You’re not going to stop him, but you try not to let him get an amazing rhythm. You want to make him take tough shots.”
Some are calling Young “Steph Curry 2.0,” and Collins sees the parallel — at least to when Curry played at Davidson.
“The ball was always in Steph’s hands,” Collins recalled. “He took a lot of shots and had deep range but also had the vision to make great passes.”
Bryant McIntosh will start on Young, but Collins envisions a host of Wildcats taking their cracks, including Jordan Ash, Scottie Lindsey, Anthony Gaines and Isiah Brown.
“Vic will see him a lot if he can go,” Collins said.
Northwestern (9-4) has beaten only one team ranked in the KenPom.com top 100: No. 93 Illinois. Oklahoma is 20th, having beaten three in the top 50: Oregon, USC and Wichita State.
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein