Oklahoma Sooners Hot Links: Buddy Hield Drops 30 on Phoenix

Buddy Hield has come a long way in the course of just one NBA season. Just like he seemed to do every year at Oklahoma, he’s steadily expanded his game, improved his decision-making, and found a way to wedge himself right into the action.

It seems as if the trade to Sacramento has energized Hield, who scored a career-high last night, including this absolutely dirty Curry-esque dribble move:

Rumor has it that Derrick Jones Jr. is still trying to find him.

Hield scored 30 points on the night and promises to be one of the best rookies from last year’s class. Watch the highlights from Hield’s career night below:

Congrats to Buddy on his achievement. I can’t wait to see what an offseason and training camp will do for his game.

OU Links:

• Sooners have certainly had their share of alcohol-related mishaps this year already, less than four whole months in. Baker Mayfield asserts that the ‘standard’ never went away. The Sooners just need to heed it more.
• You can read more about Mayfield and Lincoln Riley’s responses to the arrests here.
• A commenter on yesterday’s edition of Hot Links noticed that I had excluded OU Softball’s series sweep of Texas -- and that’s no insignificant thing. Congrats to Patty Gasso and the Sooners, who are approaching the home stretch of their season.
• OU Softball alum Lauren Chamberlain will receive the Henry P. Iba Citizen-Athlete Award. Congrats to Lauren!

National Links

• North Carolina lawmakers have drafted a bill that would pull the two major universities — North Carolina and North Carolina State -- out of the ACC if the state is boycotted, as it was for ACC and NCAA tournament games due to a controversial ‘bathroom bill.’
• Tom Ziller writes about the 101 best moments in the NBA this season. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Russell Westbrook might show up a time or two.
• Tony Romo palling around with the Dallas Mavericks is about the strangest sports story of the year. While he didn’t play (and thank GOD for that), his presence with the Mavs (especially considering that his relations with the Cowboys were strained) made him seem pretty happy.
• A major interstate in Atlanta was blocked when a truck carrying foam tomahawks spilled boxes of them on the roadway.
• As the NFL draft approaches, here are 6 curveballs to watch for.

‘STICK TO SPORTS!’

• This article about optical illusions and the fallibility of AI is endlessly fascinating to me.
• Many of Coachella’s best performances will be streamed live on Facebook for your viewing pleasure. Trust me: it beats paying thousands of dollars to hang out with rich valley kids who are only pretending to be dirty hippies.