It's only December, but based on what we've seen from Oklahoma's Trae Young thus far, we have to remain open to the possibility that he's going to have the best season of any player in the past 15 years. Seriously.

The OU point guard is combining usage and efficiency in a way that college players are supposed to be incapable of doing, let alone college freshmen. Take it from Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall, who watched his Shockers fall to Young and the Sooners 91-83 in Wichita, Kansas.

"I haven't seen a freshman guard that I've coached against that plays at that level," Marshall said.

Young would be newsworthy enough even if his shots weren't going in as often as they do and even if he were committing a few more turnovers as a point guard. We've simply never seen a freshman in a major conference carry this heavy a load for his offense in terms of possession usage.

Add in the fact that Young is being incredibly effective on all those possessions, and it's clear that he's off to a start that is truly astonishing.

Highest offensive ratings on at least 35 percent possession usage Team Season Year Poss. usage (%) Off. rating Trae Young Oklahoma 2017-18 Freshman 37.0 125.1 Steph Curry Davidson 2008-09 Junior 38.0 117.8 Lester Hudson Tennessee Martin 2008-09 Senior 35.3 115.9 Rodney Stuckey E.Washington 2005-06 Soph. 35.2 114.7 Jimmer Fredette BYU 2010-11 Senior 36.4 114.5

Data: kenpom.com/2003-04 to 2017-18

Again, it's December, and 18 Big 12 games -- including, most notably, nine true road contests -- still await the freshman and his glittering stats. But we should be under no misapprehension regarding what we've seen so far.

Young took control of a road game against the No. 3 team in the country virtually from the opening tip. Young almost casually reduced a proven and veteran-laden defense to rubble. And Young, so far, has planted his flag confidently on the game's performance horizon.

No, no one saw this coming.

How did we get here?

I don't want to say Young has been something of a surprise, but a mere 39 days ago I projected the statistical performances of the nation's top freshmen ... and Young was nowhere to be found.

Michael Porter Jr., Trevon Duval and Kevin Knox were all covered in great detail, but not Young. In fairness to my list, Young was merely the No. 23-ranked freshman in the country.

Yeah, that was a bit low. My colleague Fran Fraschilla has speculated that Young might have been ranked a bit higher if he'd committed to Kansas or Kentucky (both programs made offers) instead of to Oklahoma.

That may indeed have nudged the freshman a bit higher in the rankings, but, in fairness to those whose job it is to rank elite basketball recruits, any player performing to this other-worldly level would qualify as a surprise. Put it this way, a preseason No. 1 ranking for Young ahead of Marvin Bagley III, and an accurate prediction of what the freshman really has done over his first nine games would have won far more abuse than converts. It's difficult to predict arguably the best start to a freshman season in a decade or more.

How does Lon Kruger keep getting these guys?

For the second time in three seasons, I find myself in the position of rubbing my eyes in disbelief at what an Oklahoma player is doing. In 2015-16, Buddy Hield was the performance comet across our hoops sky. Today that role is on the brink of being occupied by Young.