NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma retired Buddy Hield’s No. 24 jersey at halftime of a game against Texas A&M on Saturday night.
The sharpshooting guard from Freeport, Bahamas, was a unanimous first-team Associated Press All-American in 2016, when he led the Sooners to the Final Four as a senior. He averaged 25 points and shot 45.7% from 3-point range that season.
The two-time Big 12 Player of the Year joined Alvan Adams, Wayman Tisdale. Blake Griffin, Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock as Sooners to have their jerseys retired.
Hield’s family and teammates and coaches from the 2016 team stood behind him as he thanked Oklahoma’s fans before the banner was lifted high at the Lloyd Noble Center. Then-Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger and current Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield, who helped recruit Hield to Oklahoma as an assistant for the Sooners, attended.
Perhaps Hield’s most memorable game was in a loss. He scored 46 points as No. 2 Oklahoma lost a triple-overtime thriller at No. 1 Kansas in 2016. Later that season, he was named NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player after he scored 37 points in the Elite Eight win over Oregon.
A year earlier, his tip-in with less than a second remaining beat Kansas at home in a matchup of ranked teams.
Hield, who now plays for the Atlanta Hawks, was the sixth pick of the 2016 draft. He has averaged almost 15 points and shot nearly 40% from 3-point range during a 10-year NBA career.
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