OU Basketball: Sooners Must Be Careful Not to Yield too Much to Hield
By Chip Rouse
It is a pretty safe assumption in OU basketball this season that as Buddy Hield goes, so go the Sooners.
With six 30-point performances and 13 games out of 15 in which he has scored 20 or more points, the Sooner sharpshooter is clearly able to take 0ver a game. Hield’s 46-point performance in the triple-overtime marathon against Kansas even had the Jayhawk fans cheering his efforts.
But what happens if and when the OU superstar has a sub-par game? The OU offense has featured a balanced attack this season, with four starters, including Hield, averaging in double figures on offense. Hield (26.6) and backcourt mate Jordan Woodard (15.3) between them are averaging almost half of the Sooners’ scoring average.
Hield clearly carries most of the scoring load, but the inherent danger is in relying on him solely to do so each and every game out. The Sooners experienced a scare and a taste of what that might be like in the second half of their game on Tuesday at Oklahoma State. The Big 12’s leading scorer and second best in the country was on fire early, scoring 20 first-half points, but hit a cold spell in the second half and showed his first signs of mortality all season, recording only six more points while committing as many turnovers.
Oklahoma shot just 35 percent in the second half after starting out the game hitting 16 of 28 shots for 57 percent. The Sooners held on to win the game 74-72, but only after a three-point, game-winning attempt by Oklahoma State’s Jeffrey Carroll came perilously close but bounded off the rim at the buzzer.
Buddy Hield is too good of a shooter to go into any kind of extended shooting slump. Because he has the skill and the talent to score virtually at will, he draws the considerable attention of the defense. That generally leaves one of his teammates with an open shot, especially when Hield drives to the basket. His presence on the court helps elevate the performance of the four other Sooner starters, three of whom he has played with now for three full seasons.
Hield’s importance to the team is not limited just to his scoring ability. He also contributes six rebounds and distributes several assists per game. With that kind of talent, it would be easy for his teammates to stand back and let their star do all the heavy lifting and perform his magic. Fortunately, the OU players have not allowed that to happen, and that could be largely because they are so used to playing together.
The aphorism “a rising tide lifts all boats” is a good analogy to describe what is going on with Oklahoma basketball this season. The elevation of Hield’s game has also brought about stronger performance from the teammates around him.
The thing that separates a great team from a good team is the ability to continue to play at a high level even when your best player is having an off-game. Oklahoma has not had to experience that yet this season, but if the Sooners become too reliant on their senior All-American and prohibitive favorite to become National Player of the Year to pick them up and put them over the top, that could spell trouble come the one-and-done postseason.