With March having concluded halfway, the basketball world will be turning its attention toward the highly anticipated NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, more popularly known as ‘March Madness’. While 68 college teams were lucky enough to qualify for the same, the players representing the University of Oklahoma were not among them. Despite this, the team was still invited to participate in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), featuring all the other franchises that weren’t selected for the NCAA. Oklahoma’s head coach Porter Moser declined the invitation, a move that caught the attention of Atlanta Hawks player Trae Young.

The NBA player took to his official X account a few hours ago. He retweeted Porter Moser’s statement about his team not participating in the NIT. Young applauded the coach’s move by highlighting the statement on his feed and writing “Respect.! Wish we could’ve used the NIT money from being the #1 seed to spend on these HS kids.. still sounds crazy I’m even saying it (rolling eyes emoji) but damn! I still respect this though, don’t care what anybody say.. nobody watching that NIT (poop emoji)”.

Trae Young has a special place in his heart for the Oklahoma Sooners, since he devoted four months of his college basketball career there before declaring for the NBA draft. The Hawks point guard’s “NIT Money” comment may have stemmed from the fact that the Oklahoma Sooners would have been paid a higher amount than the other franchises for participating. Furthermore, the same money could have been used to fund the state’s high school basketball team. Despite this, Young respected the coach for standing his ground and looking out for his players.

While his decision to praise the college team seemed justified, his decision to criticize the NIT seemed equally confusing. The same confusion sparked outrage amongst various other X users, who chose to criticize the player in the comments section.

How did Trae Young perform during his time with the Oklahoma Sooners?

Despite spending only 4 months with the Oklahoma Sooners, Trae Young managed to leave behind a memorable legacy for aspiring players to follow. During the 32 games he played for the team, the player accumulated an average score of 27.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 8.7 assists.

Young’s 2017-18 college was filled with various notable moments. The-then 19-year-old even started to draw comparisons with Stephen Curry after scoring a season-high 43 points when facing off against the Oregon Ducks. By the time his freshman season drew to a close, the player reportedly led all the other college franchises with his 848 points, 271 assists, and an average assist percentage of 48.6%.

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We may never know the reason for Trae Young disliking the NIT. However, we can admit that the player standing behind his college team’s decision is pretty wholesome.

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