Happy Thursday, friends and fans!

Former Oklahoma Sooners point guard phenom Trae Young has electrified the NBA with his scoring prowess since joining the Atlanta Hawks in 2018. With him being one of the faces of the future of the association, it’s only fitting that he sports his own shoe. Coming next fall, Adidas will officially launch Ice Trae’s signature kicks.

Young spoke with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols about this exciting news on ‘The Jump’. The All-Star PG also revealed that he’ll be closely involved with designing the Trae Young One.

With every new deal or on-court milestone, Trae’s rise to basketball superstardom continues to reach new heights. Dating back to his phenomenal All-American season at OU, his hoops wizardry knows no bounds. I’m willing to bet these shoes will serve as the perfect representation of his already illustrious career.

Now for today’s Hot Links! The Sooners’ trip to Morgantown is off, Alex Grinch’s defense is forcing takeaways at an impressive clip, the Bayou Bengals aren’t going bowling and more!

OU Links

• In case you missed it, this weekend’s game between Oklahoma and the West Virginia Mountaineers has been canceled due to rising COVID-19 numbers on WVU’s part.
• Redshirt senior Spencer Jones shared the news that he’s now on scholarship. Jones, a Nashville, Tennessee native and former Liberty Flame, is currently the Sooners’ starting holder. Major congratulations to Spence for earning his scholly! Boomer!

• One of the calling cards of an Alex Grinch defense is forcing turnovers, and this season, Oklahoma has 13 total takeaways, including 10 interceptions. That’s the best mark OU has seen in five years. The Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey has more.
• Speaking of Grinch, he recently elaborated on the difficulties and challenges of assembling this year’s recruiting class almost entirely virtually. While Oklahoma looks to secure a top 10 group this cycle, it hasn’t been easy for the esteemed defensive coordinator. SI Sooners’ Parker Thune has more.
• Bleacher Report’s Brad Shepard ranked OU as the 10th best coaching job in college football behind the likes of USC, Michigan, Oregon to name a few. Uh, not so fast, my friend.

Around the Sports World

• The LSU Tigers have self-imposed a one-year bowl ban — effective immediately — following an investigation that revealed past players within the program have been involved with receiving various impermissible benefits from improper booster payments.
• Steve Nash is entering his first season as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, and in a recent interview, Kevin Durant said Nash plans to play him at every position on the floor in certain situations, including as a small-ball center. KD in the post would be straight up unfair.
• In a cost-cutting move, the MLB has dropped 40 cities that previously housed minor league professional affiliates. Now, there are a total of 120 farm teams throughout the nation.
• For better or for worse, the Heisman Trophy has unofficially become a quarterback’s award. With that in mind, CBS Sports’ Ben Kercheval offered his take on this season’s most deserving candidates not playing the QB position.

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