NBA Draft 2016: BTBP Big Board 1.0
By Adam McGee
7. Buddy Hield – Shooting Guard (Oklahoma)
Words by Andrew Snyder
Dunn’s 2015-16 season: 25.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 51.0% FG
Buddy Hield is the best scorer in the country and it’s not particularly close at the moment. He’s an efficient gunner and he’s helped mold Oklahoma into one of the best teams in college basketball this season.
His best asset is his three-point shooting. He’s making nearly half of his three-point attempts this season, many of them coming from NBA distance. Hield is not afraid to pull up from well beyond the college three-point line. The most accurate comparison for Hield may be J.R. Smith but without all the craziness. He’s got similarly questionable shot selection and an ability get hotter than the sun from three-point range for long stretches. He may be streaky in the NBA, but he will be really fun to watch.
His biggest weakness may be his ball-handling and his size. He’s good enough of a dribbler to get by against college defenses, but that may not fly at the next level. He has a reputation has a hard worker so any weakness he has at the moment could be fixed if he sets his mind to it.
He’s listed at 6’4″ and that seems accurate. That makes him undersized as a shooting guard, which could lead to problems for him defensively. He doesn’t have the playmaking ability to be a point guard so it’s two guard or bust for Hield. Worst-case scenario He would make sense as a shooter off the bench on a good team.
Next: 6