Buddy Hield's preseason buzz continues to grow as he was recently named to the All-Big 12 Preseason team, which is voted on by the Big 12 coaches.
Last year, the Bahamian collegiate basketball player had his best season with the University of Oklahoma Sooners. He is coming off of an eventful summer during which he participated in both the LeBron James and Kevin Durant skills academies and made an appearance with the Bahamian national basketball team at the FIBA Americas CentroBasket Championships in Mexico. FIBA (International Basketball Federation) is the world's governing body for the sport, and FIBA Americas is in charge of basketball in this region.
Hield averaged 19.8 points and six rebounds in four games for The Bahamas at CentroBasket.
At the Kansas Jayhawks Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City on Wednesday, Jayhawks' Head Coach Bill Self said that Hield "could be player of the year in our league", which was a huge statement for the legendary coach to make, especially with all of the talented scorers coming back to the Big 12 for the 2014-15 season.
Hield, a 6-foot-4 junior, averaged 16.5 points per game and led the Sooners to a second place finish in the conference last season. Although his efforts earned him a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team, many will be looking to see if Hield can take his game to another level and raise his draft stock going into the 2015 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft.
Hield saw his draft stock improve toward the end of last season, but he decided to go back to school for his junior year. He will be one of the most looked at prospects this season, especially when it gets closer to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament time. He was projected as a late first round/early second round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
This year he will be asked to be more of a playmaker and will look to show improved ball handling skills, which was listed as one of his main weaknesses on several draft sites this past summer.
Oklahoma's 2014-15 season will begin on November 7, with an exhibition game against Washburn, followed by a non-conference game against Creighton University on November 19. Hield will have a chance to play in front of his home crowd over the Thanksgiving weekend when the Sooners travel to The Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament at the Atlantis Resort.
Other players voted to the All-Big 12 team include Iowa State forward Georges Niang, Kansas forward Perry Ellis, Kansas State guard Marcus Foster, and Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Juwan Staten.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian