Amid Oklahoma’s run to its first Final Four since 2002, Buddy Hield continues to see his NBA Draft stock rise.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard chimes in at No. 7 on the latest DraftExpress.com Mock Draft for 2016.
One NBA executive told SNY.tv that Hield is a Top-5 pick.
The favorite to win various National Player of the Year awards, Hield is averaging 25.4 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Sooners, who will meet Villanova in one national semifinal on Saturday in Houston. He went off for 37 points, making 8-of-13 from deep, in Saturday’s 80-68 win over Oregon in the West Regional final.
The top 10 in 2016 looks like this: No. 1 Brandon Ingram of Duke, No. 2 Ben Simmons of LSU, No. 3 Dragan Bender of Maccabi Tel Aviv, No. 4 Jaylen Brown of Cal, No. 5 Kris Dunn of Providence, No. 6 Jamal Murray of Kentucky, No. 7 Hield, No. 8 Jakob Poeltl of Utah, No, No. 9 Henry Ellenson of Marquette and No. 10 Skal Labissiere of Kentucky.
Five of the Top 10 projected picks are college freshmen.
As far as schools with multiple players in 2016 it looks like this:
Maryland – 4
Kentucky – 3
Kansas – 3
Duke – 2
Cal – 2
Providence – 2
Vanderbilt – 2
Washington – 2
Louisville – 2
Michigan State – 2
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