Buddy

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It’s been 27 years since the hip-hop group De La Soul had the hit song “Buddy” which had a mix of different elements of music that created a funky style which captivated their fan base. Now in 2016, there is another buddy hit that is sweeping the nation; only this hit is on the hardwood.

Oklahoma Sooners senior guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield is living the dream. Hield represents a rarity in men’s college basketball as he is a four-year senior. Hield is the big man on campus in Norman, Oklahoma as he making an institution that is known for its football prowess take a big time shine to basketball.

Hield entered the collegiate ranks as relative unknown when he joined an Oklahoma program for head basketball coach Lon Kruger in 2012 that was simply seeking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. As a freshman, Hield would average 7.8 points per game as he helped the Sooners make it back to the NCAA Tournament. And by the time that Hield’s junior season had finished, he had been named as the Big 12 Conference’s Player of the Year as he averaged 17.4 points per game while helping Oklahoma reach the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. Hield would have the opportunity to leave school early for the NBA Draft last spring, but as he decided to return to Oklahoma for his senior year, both he and the school have benefited.

Buddy Hield

As this college basketball season began, Hield was no longer an unknown as he was on the Naismith Player of the Award watch list. And whereas some guys are unable to live up to that hype, Hield has embraced it.

Oklahoma’s season began with an 84-78 victory over the Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference, and in the game Hield went for 30 points and 8 rebounds. December 7 would see the Sooners take on the Villanova Wildcats of the Big East Conference at Pearl Harbor, and although that Hield had a poor shooting day, he still managed to get 18 points in a 78-55 victory. Later that month Oklahoma would face another Big East team in the Creighton Blue Jays; who were unable to stop Hield as he got them for 33 points in the Sooners 87-74 win.

By the time that Big 12 Conference play began in January, Hield had scored in double figures in each of Oklahoma’s non-conference games, while going for at least 30 points four times. But on January 4, Hield put his stamp on this college basketball season when he went for 46 points on the road against the Kansas Jayhawks. It took three overtime frames to decided the contest between two of college basketball’s titans, but when it was over Hield had gone for 46 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in 54 minutes of game action. And even though that Hield had fouled out during Oklahoma’s 109-106 loss to Kansas, he still managed to receive a standing ovation from the folks at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

Not until Oklahoma’s Big 12 Tournament Semifinal loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers was Hield held to single-digits in scoring this season. And Hield’s exploits led him to once again being named as the Big 12 Conference’s Player of the Year as he became the first player since Raef LaFrentz of Kansas in 1998 to win the award in consecutive years.

By the time that the NCAA Tournament rolled around, there were many observers that expected Oklahoma to make a deep run with Hield at the forefront; and he has not disappointed.

After breezing past the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in the first round, the Sooners had to buckle down against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in the second round. And when the Sooners needed it the most, Hield stepped up to the tune of 36 points in their 85-81 victory. In the West Regional Semifinal, Oklahoma didn’t need Hield to be at his best as it was team victory in their 77-63 win over the Texas A&M Aggies. But in the West Regional Final with the Sooners first trip to the Final Four since 2002 on the line, Hield sealed his legacy at Oklahoma as he was a one-man wrecking crew to the tune of 37 points which included 8 three-pointers. Since the Oregon Ducks couldn’t stop Hield on Saturday night, the only thing left for them to do was have a front row seat of the show being that he was putting on as he was named as the MVP of the West Regional.

What has helped Hield the most is that he is calm, cool, and collected being that no situation appears to be too big for him as he has brings the laid back aspect from his native Bahamas on the court with him. Although Hield’s birth name is Chavano, he received the nickname of Buddy due to his mom’s love for the television show “Married With Children” after David Faustino’s character of Bud Bundy. Now whether it’s the name of Chavano or Buddy, everyone in the State of Oklahoma knows Hield’s name as he has captivated the state. And as the Final Four is set to take place this Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, there will be plenty of story lines with Hield at the forefront.

The same Villanova team that Hield helped to defeat by 23 points earlier this season stands in the way of Hield and Oklahoma as the school is looking to make their first appearance in the title game since 1988 while seeking their first national title in school history. And if Hield is able to help Oklahoma win that elusive first national title, that would put him in the same breath in Norman with the likes of Billy Sims, Brian Bosworth, and Adrian Peterson who are Oklahoma Football legends.

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By | 2016-03-31T09:53:39+00:00 March 31st, 2016|Categories: College Basketball|Tags: , , |0 Comments

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