By RENALDO DORSETT
Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
TWO games into his collegiate career, Chavano “Buddy” Hield has shown that his natural scoring ability has little problem transitioning to the NCAA.
Hield led the way for the Oklahoma Sooners in a 63-59 win over the Texas-Arlington Mavericks, providing a scoring spark off the bench with a team high 17 points in his first collegiate road game.
In front of a record homecoming crowd of 6,421 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, Hield displayed the type of shooting which made him such a coveted recruit for Sooners’ head coach Lon Kruger.
The Grand Bahama native and former Jack Hayward Wildcat shot 6-10 from the field, 2-4 from beyond the arch, 3-4 from the free throw line and added four rebounds, in just 19 minutes.
The Mavericks overwhelmed the Sooners’ starters and got out to an early 12-3 lead.
Hield scored 11 straight points during the Sooners’ 22-1 run, which helped them lead by as many as 13 as they took a 38-28 lead at the half.
He scored all of his 17 points in the first half.
The Sooners’ next game will be against the UTEP Miners at the Old Spice Classic 6pm November 22.
“Buddy was fantastic there in the first half,” Kruger said on the team’s website. “He came in when we were down eight or 10 and scored about every way you can. He’s an emotional player who really gets into it. He’ll give us a lot of good stretches during the year.”
Hield, a 6’3” 200 pound guard, was a four-star recruit ranked 86th nationally and as the 17th best shooting guard in the country by Rivals.com.
In his senior season at Sunrise Christian Academy Buffaloes in Wichita, Kansas, Hield averaged 22.7 points on .491 shooting in 21 minutes per game as a senior.
He also added four rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting .348 from 3-point range.
He led the Buffaloes to a 23-4 record and a National Association of Christian Athletes National championship where he was named tournament MVP.
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