OU basketball notebook: Buddy Hield returns from broken foot
BY GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Thursday, March 07, 2013
3/07/13 at 5:53 AM
Related Story: Seniors carry OU past West Virginia
Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield returned from his broken foot Wednesday, entering with 10:25 remaining in the first half. He didn't take any shots, but did hit the floor once after a loose ball.
Asked recently if he'd be nervous about Hield absorbing some contact, OU coach Lon Kruger said: "Not really. It's just a part of the game. When you're coming off of rehab at some point you've got to step back in there. When you do that, there's a mental part of it, as well as the physical. For Buddy that's probably the key. If there are collisions and he crashes, we're anxious to see how he comes out of that."
It didn't seem to affect him Wednesday night.
Nice while it lasted: The Sooners came into Wednesday's game having made all 34 of their free throw attempts against Iowa State last Saturday. That tied an NCAA record.
Forward Romero Osby stepped to the line for OU's first attempt early in Wednesday's first half... and rimmed it off.
Osby more than made up for the uncharacteristic miss by scoring 14 points in the half, staking the Sooners to a 39-28 lead.
"He's a hard matchup for any (power forward) to guard because he bounces it so well," West Virginia Bob Huggins said. "He can get it to the rim. And he can make shots, obviously. He's got the physical strength to be able to play in the post and put people on his back. I think he's a tough matchup."
Friend in high places?: OU athletic director Joe Castiglione will serve on the selection committee which seeds the upcoming NCAA tournament. Not that it should affect the Sooners any.
"When they talk about Oklahoma, Joe's not in the room," Kruger reminded. "The committee is made up of 10, and each of them puts different weight on different things. It's not like there's a blueprint. It's not like all 10 think exactly the same way.
"Joe's opinion about strength of schedule, last 10 ballgames, whatever, may be different from the other people on the committee."
Associated Images:
Oklahoma forward Romero Osby shoots in front of West Virginia forward Dominique Rutledge on Wednesday in Norman. SUE OGROCKI/Associated Press
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