Though he's a rookie, a lot of Atlanta Hawks fans are excited about Trae Young's potential. However, there were times when the former Oklahoma Sooner struggled to find his shooting stroke. In fact, he recently noted that his first shots in high school, college, and the NBA were all air balls.

“My first shots in high school, college and the NBA were all air balls,” Young tells ESPN's Jackie MacMullen, weeks after his underwhelming Salt Lake City debut. “That's something I'll never forget.”

Young's first shot attempt at this year's Summer League tournament was an air ball. The crowd inside the gym was a bit surprised, and Twitter was quick to react. Believe it or not, he missed his first 10 shots against the Memphis Grizzlies' Summer League team before making one.

“Of course it's tough,” Young told ESPN. “I just go back to the hotel and relax, not even turn on the TV, because I know they will be talking about me. [The criticism] isn't gonna help me. I've tuned out social media because that's a place that can really bring you down if you pay too close attention to what everyone is saying. So I don't.”

Despite his less-than-stellar Summer League debut, Young maintained a positive outlook, according to MacMullen. The former Big 12 Freshman of the Year later noted that he would try to do better. He also reassured the media that he wasn't worried about his shot.

Young, now 19 years of age, played just one season with the Sooners, but it was certainly an impressive one. In 32 appearances, he racked up averages of 27.4 points on 42.2 percent shooting from the field (36.0 percent from beyond the arc), 8.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in 35.4 minutes per outing.

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Young finished his freshman season at Oklahoma leading the country in several statistical categories, including assists (271), turnovers (161), points (848), points per game (27.4), assists per game (8.7), and assist percentage (48.6%). Furthermore, his 811 points scored in the Big 12 broke the conference's record for most points scored by a freshman player – a record that was previously held by Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley.

Whether or not Young will be able to lead the Hawks back to prominence remains to be seen, but it sounds like he's ready to push the noise aside and prove his worth.