To learn more about New Orleans lottery pick Buddy Hield’s path to the NBA, Pelicans.com checked in with Michael Kinney, a freelance basketball writer who covers the University of Oklahoma hoops program. Kinney shared some of his insights from watching and covering the native of the Bahamas over the past four years, culminating with the Sooners making a trip to the Final Four this spring.
Q: Pelicans GM Dell Demps spoke after the draft about Hield’s rampant popularity on the Oklahoma campus and in the athletic program. What was your experience in terms of why he became so popular?