Buddy Hield Gets Well-Deserved Show of Respect From Kansas Fans
By Chip Rouse
Opposing players generally don’t get a lot of love from Kansas Jayhawk fans in games played at spacious and historic Allen Fieldhouse. Buddy Hield changed all of that on Monday night.
But, then again, opposing players don’t generally single handily scorch the usually glove-tight Kansas defense for 46 points in a single game. In fact, that has only happened once before in the Jayhawks’ long, illustrious basketball history.
Kansas State’s Mike Wroblewski lit up Kansas for a record 46 points in 1962. That individual mark stood for more than a half century before Hield, the Sooners’ sensational 6-5 All-American, equaled it on Monday night. His performance was made even more remarkable by the fact that he shot 56 percent for the game, including hitting 8 of 15 shots from three-point range. Hield also cashed in at the free-throw line, hitting 12 of his 14 free-throw tries.
A beat writer for the Oklahoma City Oklahoman astutely pointed out that Hield had seven assists to go along with his 46 points, which meant that the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year personally accounted for 60 of the Sooners’ 106 points on the night. Oh, and don’t forget about his eight rebounds, two of them on the offensive end.
As remarkable as Hield’s performance was against the top-ranked Jayhawks, there were telltale signs well before Monday that the Sooner All-American had this in him. After all, Hield had scored 30 or more points in four of his previous seven games and Monday night was the seventh straight game in which he has scored at least 20 points.
In the Sooner Nation, they call it “Buddy Love,” but the affection for what Hield is bringing to the game this season is beginning to extend well outside of Norman, Okla., and around the country as he builds a strong case for becoming Oklahoma’s second National Player of the Year in seven seasons (Blake Griffin was National POY in 2008-09).
After the Monday night ESPN game between the Sooners and the Jayhawks, Hield was interviewed live by the cable network’s talk-show host Scott Van Pelt – just ask yourself how often a player for the losing team gets interviewed on national TV after the game? After the interview ended, Kansas fans who were still hanging around gave the OU star a rousing ovation.
Hield, who had leaned over to acknowledge Dick Vitale, who had been the color analyst on the TV coverage of the game, said he couldn’t hardly hear a word Vitale was saying in his ear. After that the Sooner senior headed off in his stocking feet to the press interview area, but still stopped along the way to sign some autographs and speak with some of the Kansas fans.
You would think that the reliving highlights of the game would be last thing Hield and his Sooner teammates would want to think about after a marathon effort, only to come up just short, but that is exactly what the four-year starter was anxious to do afterwards.
“I have to watch it,” Hield told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. That was what the OU star planned to do as soon as he got back to the hotel after the game. That’s the kind of player, the kind of person Hield is. He is the ultimate gym rat. Constantly working, always trying to get better. Looks like it is really beginning to pay off, and the Oklahoma Sooners are the grateful beneficiaries.
Less than 24 hours after the Sooners’ epic battle of No. 1s, the Oklahoma home games upcoming against West Virginia and Kansas sold out. And why not? OU fans have the opportunity to see their National Player of the Year candidate eight more times at home this season.
Football sellouts are about as commonplace at Oklahoma as night following day, but consecutive sellouts in basketball are few and far between. Not this year. “Buddy Love” is taking care of that.