The feedback he (Buddy) received when exploring a possible declaration for the draft after last season's Sweet 16 run led Hield to work relentlessly on his ball handling.
“I'm working out with one of the best ball handlers in the conference and the country in Isaiah,” Hield said. “He's a workaholic in the ball handling drills.”
During the sessions over the offseason, when Hield and Cousins are often the only ones in the practice gym at Lloyd Noble Center, Hield would sit back and watch as Cousins went through his drills.
“Then I'd just try to mimic how he moves,” Hield said. “I can't be Isaiah Cousins with the ball, but I can find ways to improve, how he gets low and how he squats down. He's so shifty with the ball.”
Cousins and Hield have earned a reputation as the two hardest workers on the team since their arrival in Norman. Still, there was another level this summer.
“He was more serious,” Cousins said. “How you approach the game is different. Obviously he's trying to go to the pro level so you've got to take a different approach to basketball.”
Hield saw the payoff this summer when he played in pickup games this offseason against some of the best players in college basketball, guys such as Kansas' Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden and Wichita State's Ron Baker.
“They're big-time defenders,” Hield said. “I feel like if I do those moves in those games and it works, then I'll be able to do it against anybody.”
Once practice began last month, Hield took it up to another level when he got a chance to go head-to-head with Cousins, who is also the Sooners' top defender.
“During the individual time, they were always looking for each other, guarding each other,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “When we have those moments in practice, when we split them up, they want to guard each other. That's good for both. Isaiah is really good on the ball and Buddy welcomes that challenge.”
