Thanks to NIL, general managers have been gaining more and more steam in college sports. Head coaches cannot focus on NIL's financials and what each player earns, so general managers have become more common in basketball and football, the two biggest revenue sports. General managers are also there to help identify talent on the recruiting side. That is Trae Young's role with Oklahoma basketball.
The emergence of the general manager position has also allowed schools to get creative with who they hire, like notable alums who have been a part of the sport in basketball and football. Andrew Luck is the most prominent name employed in football at Stanford, while in basketball, we have seen different names like Adrian Wojnarowski and even Shaquille O'Neal get positions as either general managers or assistant general managers. Oklahoma has also employed Young, who is still in the NBA, as an associate general manager.
When Young was announced for this role, he also pledged $1 million for the program. Young and Porter Moser, the Oklahoma basketball head coach, were on Andy Katz's show, The Sideline with Andy Katz, discussing how this would work with Young being an active NBA point guard for the Atlanta Hawks.
“It hit home whenever coach brought up in an interview how you have to win in April and May, especially in this NIL era,” Young said. “I think I agreed with him.”
Young is allowed to contact recruits when they are on campus and make recruiting phone calls. “Every student-athlete in the country knows who Trae is,” Moser said.
Article Continues Below
When elaborating on how Young will impact the program despite being an active NBA player, Young said he is available and can help wherever needed.
“You know me; I just want to win,” Young said. “…I understand what it takes to make it to the next level, and it's winning and winning at a high level. I'm involved as much as Porter wants me to. He'll text me, and there are things we see and things like that, and throughout the season, I'm going to be an open book.
“Whenever he needs me, my phone is open. He has my number; if I change it, he'll have that one too. That ain't ever going to change now.”
While Young might find it challenging to be attentive due to the NBA schedule, having him available is a massive recruiting win for the Sooners and his future in this role.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Jake Faigus graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 and has had stops at Catena Media, Playmaker, DraftKings, USA Today, Spike Up, and Spotlight Sports Group. He also writes for Sporting News and works at iHeartMedia in Phoenix.