Despite Heartbreaking End, We'll Always Remember Buddy Hield's Senior Season

Not everyone can go out on top.

The final game of Buddy Hield's college career was far from a memorable one. He sank a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, but he missed his next (and final) seven three-point attempts, finishing the game with nine points on 12 shots with four turnovers. As far as KenPom's O-rating figures are concerned, it was his third-worst game of the season.

Worst of all, it came in Oklahoma's lowest-scoring game since February 2013—back when Hield was a little-known freshman who shot just 23.8 percent from three-point range. The 95-51 loss to Villanova on Saturday night was Oklahoma's worst margin of defeat since a 45-point loss to UCLA on Jan. 4, 1975 and the worst loss that any team has suffered in Final Four history, according to the TBS broadcast.

But despite being on the wrong end of that record-setting night, what we'll remember about Hield's night was his grace in defeat:

That's the Hield we came to know and love.

Yes, he's the guy who scored 46 points in an epic triple-overtime game against Kansas. More importantly, he's the guy who made it a point to give poignant interviews and sign autographs after Oklahoma lost that battle. The fans at Allen Fieldhouse stuck around after that game to applaud the effort Hield gave.

And, just to be clear, Allen Fieldhouse is Kansas' home court, not Oklahoma's.

The fast-talking, Bahamian bomber will forever hold a place in college basketball lore because of the smile that probably couldn't be punched off his face.

Buddy felt like our buddy: everything we love about college basketball personified.

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

He came from nothing—ESPN's Jeff Goodman recently took a trip down to the Bahamas to learn more about the humble beginnings of Hield's legend—started his college career as a nobody and blossomed into a star. One year ago, he turned down a chance to go pro for the opportunity to come back for one more season to prove himself worthy of a first-round pick.

Hield wasn't the best four-year player in college basketball history or even in the past decade—Doug McDermott and Tyler Hansbrough could give him a run for his money there—but didn't he feel like the easiest player in recent history to root for? Jimmer Fredette and Stephen Curry are in that conversation, too, but they didn't play nearly as many nationally televised games, nor did they play on teams ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Even fans of other Big 12 teams couldn't help but appreciate what Hield did for college basketball this season—and let me assure you that was not the case with Hansbrough in the ACC. Hield had a hardworking mentality and positive attitude that endeared him to everyone.

That's what we'll miss about Hield.

His 32-point game in the win against Ben Simmons and LSU was memorable. The game-winning triple against Texas in early February was great. The 36- and 37-point tournament games against VCU and Oregon, respectively, were incredible. The 46-point special against Kansas will be an individual effort we talk about for years to come.

But we'll miss Hield the man even more than we'll miss Hield the player. No matter which lottery pick he's taken with in June—and regardless of how poorly the final game of his career went—he will remain No. 1 in our hearts for what he brought to college basketball in 2015-16.

Congratulations, NBA. You're getting a good one in Hield.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.