Oklahoma practices Buddy Hield in contact drills; unsure when he’ll be cleared
Buddy Hield is a self-proclaimed fast healer.
But also, a stubborn one.
Oklahoma’s freshman guard, who three weeks ago to the day broke his fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot, was practicing in contact drills.
If it were up to him, he said he would have been out there sooner, but that’s why teams have athletic trainers and team doctors.
“Yeah, I’m very impatient,” Hield said. “Trust me. Me and (Oklahoma athletics trainer Alex Brown) got at it every day. He’d be like, ‘No, you can’t do this.’ AB’s my boy, though. I listen to him and listen to what the doctors say.”
Each week Hield has shown some progression. Last Friday was the first time he actually got to participate in practice, but it was just while the team was running through plays with nobody was guarding them.
On Monday, Hield defended, pointed to open spots and even scored some baskets.
“It was like all the players were excited about it the first time he shot it in a live situation,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said after practice.
Hield smiled when asked about the response he got from his teammate on his first made basket during live play in weeks.
“Just glad. That’s a good moment for me right there,” Hield said. ”I just wanted to get it in and move onto the next play.”
Hield said the only part of his foot that was sore after practice is where his stitches from surgery used to be. Besides that, he said he was ready to go whenever he got cleared. Kruger is unclear if he will be ready for the West Virginia game on Wednesday.
“Buddy won’t play unless the doctors say he’s full to go,” the second-year OU coach said. “It’s not a matter of risking anything. If he plays, it means the doctors said he’s 100 percent. We’re not going to play him at 80; we’re not going to play him at 90.”
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