A year ago, Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield was considered a fringe first-round NBA draft pick. An extra year in college has Hield not only advancing to the Final Four but drawing comparisons with the Warriors Steph Curry, who is en route to his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award.
Hield’s 37-point game to beat Oregon and advance to Houston was reminiscent of Curry in college at Davidson, where he helped his team advance to the Elite Eight.
Curry’s tournament in 2008 included consecutive games of 40, 30, 33 and 25 points. His first game included a 30-point second half in an upset over No. 7 seed Gonzaga.
So far this year, Hield has scored 27, 36, 17 and 37 points, shooting 47.5 percent from three-point range and 56.7 percent from the floor. He is the first March Madness player since Curry to score 100 points and hit 15 three-point shots before the Final Four.
In the win over top-seeded Oregon, Hield hit eight three-pointers, some of which he was defended well.
After witnessing what Hield did to the Ducks, former Warriors guard Mitch Richmond said he thinks Hield will continue his marksmanship in the NBA.
“He’s so on balance,” Richmond told USA Today. “Sometimes you see young players fade, but he takes the step back and he goes straight up. I think he’s only going to get better when he gets to the next level He’s going to get stronger.”
Hield considered coming out for the NBA draft after last season, when he averaged 17.4 points per game and was the Big 12 player of the year.
“I probably would have been drafted and gone to the D-league,” Hield said in January.
