Trae Young explains why time is now to help OU basketball

The NCAA Tournament turned out to be an a-ha moment for OU basketball. If not for the program, then at least for Trae Young.

Young said it was after watching the Sooners lose to UConn and a postgame interview with head coach Porter Moser that Young realized he needed to help.

Young and Moser were recently guests on The Sideline with Andy Katz, released Monday. It was one of the first times Young has spoken in-depth about his new assistant general manager role he has with OU basketball.

“Coach brought up in an interview how you have to win in April and May, especially in this NIL era,” Young said. “I really agreed with him. For me, how can I help now? I just want to see my school succeed. This is how I can help. I’m just here whenever they need me.”

What Young is referencing is a post-tournament question asked by SoonerScoop if whether Moser was happy with the program direction.

Four seasons in, and it always felt like OU was fighting an uphill battle with the transfer portal and NIL.

Moser stressed winning the battles in April and May, referencing the portal and retention. Young quickly became a part of that solution.

“I’ll say this,” said Moser after the season-ending loss. “To get your basketball program where you – you have to win in April and May. You have to win in April and May with the NIL.

“For us? Retention. You gotta win in April and May in the NIL to do that. I’m so proud of how these guys fought through hard to get to where we are. I’m excited about the future.”

Asked #OU HC Porter Moser:

Four seasons in, are you happy with the program’s direction? pic.twitter.com/RuKjmedGGz

— Bob Przybylo (@BPrzybylo) March 22, 2025

That was the light bulb moment for Young. Talks began with Moser and athletic director Joe Casitglione, and it was time to get to work.

Moser remembers the moment well.

“I have the text and he texted me,” Moser told Katz. “He’s like, ‘let’s get together, let’s talk.’ We have to take this to the next level. Just a passion right away. I don’t even know if it was 12 hours after the UConn game. It just blossomed from there, talking about this.

“We have to position ourselves to be competitive. He gets that. That’s why he wanted to jump in and help right away.”

The goal? Bridging the gap. That started, obviously, with Young donating $1 million toward OU basketball’s NIL efforts.

From there, though, it’s about Young’s presence. He is an incredibly recognizable name for high school recruits and players in the transfer portal.

Bottom line? They want to get to where he is. Young can bring that kind of perspective that very few can do.

It was about retention, which OU nailed this offseason. It was about acquisition, which OU checked every box in the transfer portal.

It’s a collaboration to try to get OU where it wants to go. To championships, to Final Four appearances. All that.

“I just want to win. I’m involved as much as Porter wants me to,” Young said. “Going to be an open book. That ain’t never going to change.”

Young can be active in recruiting. He can be on campus for visits. He can call recruits. As Moser said, Young is a connector. The hope is he can connect and bring those elite recruits to Norman.

Young didn’t play under Moser, obviously, but that bond has been built. They’re ready to see where this can go.

“When you hear Coach Moser come up, you don’t hear nothing but great things about him,” Young said. “Every time I see him, it’s great energy you can feel it in the gym. It’s great things you love. That’s the best reason why I wanted to text him that. I wanted to take these things to the next level.”

Final word

“Even before I got to the NBA, I think it’s every kid’s dream to ultimately go to a school, make it to the NBA and then if you have the possibility give back to the school that you played for, you’d want to do that in any way you can. We have one of the best ADs in the country in In Joe Castiglione. We’ve been talking for years about how we can give back and be a part of the school. It’s crazy with the era we’re in now. I think it’s cool I can be a part of my old school and alma mater this way and help out any way I can. I’m always supporting it. Now I can really be a part of it.” – Young