Head-to-Toe Breakdown of Final Four Superstar Buddy Hield

Buddy Hield is the biggest star of the 2016 Final Four.

You can slice the conversation six ways from Sunday, but you aren't going to extrapolate anything that takes you anywhere but to the doorstep of Oklahoma's prodigiously talented senior scoring guard.

As if anyone still needed convincing, let the numbers be your guide.

He's the tournament's leading scorer with 29 points per game. He is now ranked second in all-time scoring both for Oklahoma and the Big 12 Conference. Through four tournament games, he's the most prolific scorer in recent memory.

Well, except for one guy:

If none of those work for you, just hang your hat on the 37 points Hield hung on Oregon to get the Sooners to Houston.

It's pretty clear this is a player with some positive attributes. No matter what happens in Saturday's national semifinal against Villanova, Hield's future is bright (and more on that below).

Perhaps less clear, though, are Hield's weaknesses as a player. Does he have any? No one's perfect, no matter how high-wattage your smile or cartoon-movie-perfect the rainbow on your jump shot. Right? 

As Hield's Sooners prepare to face a relatively unsung but very dangerous Wildcat team on Saturday evening, here's a look at the good, bad and in-between of college basketball's brightest talent.

Strengths: Shooting and Hustle and Shooting

Did I say shooting twice? Oh, good. Then I did what I meant to do.

You can't say it enough. Hield shot an amazing-for-a-guard 50 percent from the floor this regular season, including 46.5 percent from three, where he obviously shines. It's even more impressive considering he shot 23.8 percent from deep in his freshman season back in 2012-13.

It's not just the threes, though: Hield is a pure scorer.

He doesn't hesitate to go inside to draw contact or make something happen off the dribble. He has great endurance, always leading the break or the half-court offense even in a game's waning minutes. He's always ready to spot up and fire whenever he sees daylight.

That "motor," as scouts like to call it, is also brought to bear on defense. He works his tail off on defense and is great as a helper.

This season, he set career highs in rebounds (5.7) and blocks (0.5) per game while also grabbing a very respectable 1.1 steals per contest.

Harry How/Getty Images

According to Sports-Reference.com, Hield's two-point shooting percentage this season was 54.9 percent, and his free-throw shooting was a crisp, Big 12-topping 88 percent—pretty good given that the 200 free throws he took in the regular season represented the second-highest number in the conference.

Finally, you can't discount Hield's impeccable sense of timing.

Whether it's the cold-blooded three at the perfect moment or the fact that he's peaking when the lights are brightest, it all seems to come up Buddy when it matters most.

It's even evident in the way he's used his time at Oklahoma—all four seasons, often a red flag at the next level—to improve each year, although that's probably a testament to the top-shelf work ethic for which he is well-known at this point.

"I'm scared of failure,'' Hield told Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com. "I never want my teammates to be mad at me because I had a shot in the corner and I missed it. I spend all the time working on my shot so I don't let people down.''

Weaknesses: Passing, Ball-Handling

Forget for the moment about those little details that worry pro scouts. Forget about things like his tweener size at 6'4" or his slightly imperfect footwork. Let's focus on the games in front of him.

Admittedly, Hield is good in all phases, and as such, this is nitpicking to some extent. Still, crowding Hield and forcing him to make plays by putting the ball on the deck—or getting rid of it altogether—appear to be the best bets for exposing Hield's relative weaknesses.

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Spot-up shooting notwithstanding, Hield is not what you'd call a magician with the ball in his hands.

His ball-handling is solid but not spectacular. Without a head of steam, it's a challenge for him to consistently break down or blow by his man. It's a tough order, but crowding him off screens can knock him out of his rhythm.

His passing also doesn't occupy the highest notch either. He can hit the open man, but it's not always what you might call a thing of beauty.

This season, he dished out two assists per game but committed three turnovers in the process. With as many touches as he gets, that's not a huge problem, but it's clear he's not a pure floor general.

For the record, Villanova—an excellent defensive team—knows something about all of this. Although the Sooners smeared the Wildcats 78-55 when they played in December, Villanova held Hield to 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and zero assists to two turnovers.

Intangibles

What makes Hield interesting as a public personality is the contrast between his happy-go-lucky demeanor and steely competitive fire. It's a heady blend.

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Going back to his early teen years in his native Bahamas, where he'd hustle lesser players for change, he's used guile as a tool. He's not sneaking up on anyone anymore, but that combination of charm and intelligence will always find an outlet.

Hield shoots a lot. Is the volume a sign of poor judgment or underlying selfishness? Not according to analyst Kevin O'Connor of Sporting News:

"

Sometimes he forces instead of making a “good-to-great” pass to a teammate. 

However, he's enabled as the go-to scorer on the Sooners, so it’s likely he simply has the green light whenever he wants to pull the trigger. Hield has plus intangibles, as a vocal player who hustles on both ends. There is little doubt that he’d accept a strict role responsibility, rendering useless the critiques of his college shot selection.

"

The bottom line for this section is that, with that competitive spirit and aforementioned work ethic in place both in and out of the spotlight, Hield is set to lead by example or seamlessly fit in with a larger rotation.

NBA Role and Draft Outlook

Given all this, it's no wonder that insiders like The Vertical's Chris Mannix are reporting that Hield's pro stock is on a big-time rise.

But the rise could get even steeper. As Hield tears up the tournament field, consensus No. 1 pick Ben Simmons can only sit and watch, having been unable to guide his LSU Tigers into the field of 68.

Could that consensus tag be ripe for the plucking?

"

I'm a huge Ben Simmons fan. Love Brandon Ingram, too. But I give in, if you got the No. 1 NBA draft pick you got to consider Buddy Hield.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) March 27, 2016"

The overall No. 1 pick probably still belongs to Simmons. As it stands, DraftExpress predicts the Sacramento Kings will take Hield with the seventh pick in this summer's NBA draft. NBADraft.net has him going third to the Phoenix Suns.

No matter how you slice it, that's rarefied air. Hield has certainly gotten there under his own power, one foot in front of the other.

He has the tools to keep it rolling past Villanova on Saturday and into the national final. We'll see what he can do. It's certainly easier than trying to see what he can't.