The NCAA Final Four 2016 will begin on Apr. 2 and all eyes are on Oklahoma's senior, Buddy Hield as he continues to boost his draft stock with his consecutive stellar performances in the NCAA tournament.
Oklahoma's journey to the Final Four was not an easy one. They defeated the CSU Bakersfield in the round of 64, 82-68, they endured a close call in the round of 32 against Virginia Commonwealth but prevailed in the end, 85-81, won against Texas A&M in the Sweet 16, 77-63 and defeated top-seeded Oregon in the West regional finals, 80-68.
What's common in each of those games is Buddy Hield's outrageous numbers. He scored 36 against CSU, 27 against VCU, pulled a double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) against Texas A&M and in the regional finals, he scored 37 points while shooting 8-13 in the three-point line. Nobody has been this dominating during March Madness and with the way things are going, Hield is poised to win it all, The Big Lead reported.
These performances separated him against other prospects aspiring to get drafted in the NBA this year according to Yahoo Sports. He is currently 3rd in various mock drafts, just after LSU's Ben Simmons and Duke's Brandon Ingram.
The website further added that the only thing holding teams back on drafting Hield as the top pick is his age. He will be entering the league at age 22, while Simmons and Ingram are just 19 and 18, respectively. This means that the two freshmen will have more room to grow compared to the Oklahoma senior.
Despite that, he remains as one of the dark horses in the upcoming draft, at least for some NBA GMs.
"It's nothing we didn't know or haven't seen already, but it's good to see him doing this on the biggest stage he's played on in his college career so far," an NBA general manager told Yahoo Sports segment, The Vertical.
The Oklahoma Sooners are set to face the Villanova Wildcats on Apr. 2, Saturday while the North Carolina Tar Heels will go head-to-head against the Syracuse Orange right after. Watch Hield's performance against Oregon below.