Pick your cliche.
“You’re only as old as you feel.”
“Older equals wiser.”
In today’s sports landscape, those cliches could not be more false. Sometimes it makes sense. Many NFL players do not see too much time after age 30. A professional in the MLB sees his skill level diminish when the magic three, zero is reached. Somehow, hockey is the only sport where it’s actually not too terrible if your over 30, or over 40 if you’re Jaromir Jagr.
The NBA is unique in that players see both ends of that sword. A player’s decline does begin around age 30, but in the last decade there’s been sort of a shift in the value of the four-year starter in college. The one-and-done will usually be seen as the better investment than the guy that has spent four years perfecting his craft.
In June, a new crop of NBA hopefuls will enter the fray. LSU’s Ben Simmons, California’s Jaylen Brown, and Duke’s Brandon Ingram are some of the one-and-done kids getting serious attention. They are getting all of the buzz and hype, but they also have something in common. None of these kids remain in the NCAA Tournament.
Enter Buddy Hield, the four-year starting shooting guard from the University of Oklahoma. Hield is still playing. In fact, he’s playing this Saturday for a shot at leading the Sooners to their first NCAA title in school history. (The Sooners were runner up in 1947 and 1988.)
Despite Hield’s ridiculous per game run in the NCAA Tournament (29.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, shooting 55.8-percent from the field, and 45.8-percent from three), not one NBA mock draft has Hield higher than the seventh pick. DraftXpress.com (the NBA Draft bible) has Hield at seven on their board, as does ESPN’s Chad Ford, and HoopsHype.com. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com has Hield at eighth.
Somehow, that seems wrong. Is it just me? Am I missing something? With all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the freshmen, Hield’s performance has been overshadowed.
According to most mocks, the senior Sooners shooting guard is rated lower than Ingram (ok), Simmons (begrudgingly accepted), Kentucky’s Jamal Murray (understandable), and this year’s international man of mystery, Dragen Bender from Israel. That would be the one that makes me do the Scooby Doo “huh”.
Hield has not just been doing this in the tournament. He’s had solid per-game and per-40-minute numbers all season long.
After scoring 17.4 points per game shooting 35.9-percent from three, Hield could have declared for the NBA last year. He wanted to go back and correct his jump shooting form. I would say he succeeded, since his points per game average went up by eight and his shooting from three sky rocketed to 46.5-percent on about the same number of three pointers per game.
This is not to say Simmons, Murray, and Ingram haven’t been good. They have been. But why is Hield not the fourth best player on draft boards right now? Why is Bender getting more buzz at whoever picks fourth?
Maybe some of that is fit. For example, I don’t think the Sacramento Kings need to select ANOTHER shooting guard in the lottery, but if I’m a Kings fan, I’m not mad at it.
One could easily point to Hield’s age (22 at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season and 23 by late December) as an issue, if you want to call it an issue. Providence point guard Kris Dunn just turned 22 last week, and he is higher on draft boards right now than the Oklahoma sharpshooter.
That’s fair since Dunn is a point guard, and the NBA is now a point guard driven league, and I get it. The freshman phenoms still have some room to grow in their ceilings, but if you’re in the lottery, why not just take someone in Hield?
Look at Kentucky’s Skal Labissière, someone who will also get some lottery buzz. (Truth be told, if Labissière is taken higher than 10th, there better be a damn good reason for it.)
If you watched the Kentucky Wildcats this season, is there anything Labissière did that makes you go, “Yes. I want to draft that kid,” rather than say, “Hmm. Maybe that kid needs to go back in the oven for at least one more year.”
Ingram and Murray should not stay at college, however. Those two are ready to go, and should be served hot and steaming. Simmons? Stick that kid back in the oven. One caveat to that, though, is to stick him in someone else’s oven. Ben, if you’re smart, you’ll transfer to another college if you’re even pondering returning to school, something I doubt you’re doing.
Hield is ready right now, and he can help an up and coming team (like Boston) or a team that is in desperate need of a franchise player (like my Philadelphia 76ers) RIGHT NOW. Teams in the lottery should not be thrown off by Hield’s age because there are some times where a player’s age is not a negative.