NORMAN —Former OU guard and current Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young announced Monday on NBA Today he's set to begin a new role as the program's assistant general manager.
Young also announced he'll be donating $1 million to the program. His announcement comes weeks after Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry became the first active player in U.S. major professional sports to take an administrative job with an NCAA team.
"The game has changed (with) NIL," Young said, "college basketball, the way it's changed, I think it's a perfect time for guys to be more involved with the schools that helped make them who they were or helped pushed them to be who they were."
In his new role, Young will "lend support in OU player personnel and strategic roster management planning, and will serve a critical role in helping build student-athletes' brands and maximizing their potential," according to the school. Young will also be "assisting with the evaluation of high school and transfer portal prospects, as well as helping negotiate player contracts," per the school's release.
"Trae is a son of Norman, Oklahoma, and he's given so much to our city and its people," athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a statement. "He has a strong affinity for this place and his commitment to ensuring our community is a thriving one is truly unmatched. He's also an OU legend who, in his time here and since, continues to achieve excellence both on and off the court. With this appointment, we're taking his commitment to Norman and to OU to the next level, dedicating our mutual support together to the success of our men's basketball program.
"His mind is made for this game, and we're incredibly fortunate he's in our corner wanting to put his talents and innovative thinking toward strengthening our program. On top of that, his continued financial generosity buoys our efforts in ways few other schools can enjoy. Even as he's thriving in the NBA, he never forgets his roots. We couldn't be more appreciative of him as well as excited to work together in helping our program flourish in this new era of college athletics."
At OU, Young, who starred at Norman North High School, led the country in both points (27.4) and assists (8.7), becoming the first Division I player to do so.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Young owns OU's freshman season records for points (876), assists (279) and 3-pointers (118).
"This is a really big day and incredibly exciting," OU coach Porter Moser said in a statement. "First, just a huge thank-you to Trae for the $1 million gift to our program. What an unbelievably gracious offering. It will be put to effective use as we continue on our path toward sustained high-level success. We are extraordinarily grateful for the generous contribution.
"Second, Trae's addition as assistant general manager is going to pay significant dividends for our program on multiple levels. He is a basketball junkie in so many ways. He's obviously one of the biggest and most recognizable on-court talents in the world, so he brings immediate credibility with younger players. But I can tell you that Trae also pays close attention to the national basketball landscape and is dialed in to all levels of the sport. His knowledge, coupled with his desire for our program to be the best it can be, will absolutely move us forward."
The Young family's foundation previously donated $4 million toward the Young Family Athletic Center in Norman.
"For someone like Steph and me, we represent our schools off the court, in the locker room and talk trash all the time," Young said, "so now to be able to represent even more, it's going to be even more special."
ColtonSulleycoverscollege sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea forColton? He can be reached atcsulley@oklahoman.comor on X/Twitter at@colton_sulley. SupportColton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
