Buddy Hield's OU jersey retirement highlights a fading era in college basketball
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NORMAN — Buddy Hield stood on the Lloyd Noble Center baseline, arm draped around his daughter and phone raised as his name ascended slowly into the rafters.
The familiar No. 24 climbed toward the ceiling while Hield watched it through a screen, then without one. He lowered his phone, glanced down at his daughter with a grin Oklahoma fans remember well, then tilted his head back toward the banner as it settled into place at halftime of the Sooners' 75-71 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday night.
The idea of it hadn’t quite landed when the program called to tell him the jersey was being honored and raised. The reality hit only then.
"I was smiling,” Hield said of the moment he was told about the event, flashing his uncontainable beam. “But, also, it was about damn time.”
No. 24 pic.twitter.com/dTzvuhXoVo— Colton Sulley (@colton_sulley) February 22, 2026
For one night, the Lloyd Noble Center didn’t feel like itself. The often dreary building buzzed the way it once did a decade ago, when Hield ruled the floor and the Sooners put together one of the best seasons in program history.
The 2016 consensus national player of the year, now an Atlanta Hawk, became the sixth player to have his jersey honored at OU, joining Wayman Tisdale, Alvan Adams, Mookie Blaylock, Stacey King and Blake Griffin. Most of Hield’s 2015-16 teammates and coaches were back, too, reunited for the 10-year anniversary of the Sooners’ Final Four run.
The game itself, a loss to Texas A&M that dropped OU further from NCAA Tournament contention, was almost an afterthought. This night wasn’t about the present Sooners or the state of college basketball at OU. It was about honoring something that is increasingly rare.
“I would never trade it for nothing,” Hield said of his four years here. “Those years made me who I am. This place made me who I am as a person.”
“These years, when I was here, made me who I am. This place made me who I am as a person. As a player, you all know what I did, but I grew a lot as a person.”
There is nobody like Buddy Hield. pic.twitter.com/IkSkzT6T2i— Colton Sulley (@colton_sulley) February 22, 2026
Former OU coach Lon Kruger returned to Norman, along with Khadeem Lattin, Ryan Spangler, Jordan Woodard and others. They were the core of a veteran team that finished 29-8, earned a No. 2 seed in March Madness and reached the program’s fifth Final Four. Hield posted 12 games of 30 points or more that season.
As familiar faces hugged and laughed, a quiet realization lingered: this might never happen again.
The idea of a college star staying for four years or starting 105 games, as Hield did over his final three seasons, is becoming obsolete in the transfer portal era.
“Getting two to three guys to stay for four or five years is rare, yet alone four to five,” Kruger said. “It’s a different age, a different game. The rate of change is going to continue to go up.”
Hield agrees. He understands he represents a fading reality in college basketball.
Growing up in Freeport, Bahamas, Hield fashioned a basketball hoop out of plywood and a milk crate. He trained for countless hours in his backyard and in the street. During his time with the Sooners, he lived in the practice gym, all to live out his dreams and give his mother, Jackie Swann, a better life.
And he chose to stay for his fourth season and chase a championship with his teammates when he could’ve left early for the NBA.
Here is the video honoring the 10-year anniversary of the #Sooners’ Final Four team. pic.twitter.com/wTFDzNTKBA— Colton Sulley (@colton_sulley) February 22, 2026
“It's sad you can't hold that brotherhood like a four-year player,” Hield said, “being in the same program for a long time because people, players, families, coaches, everybody gets moody and they want to try something new. They always want that shiny, best thing.”
Oklahoma is home for Hield. He returns in the offseason to work out with current players and stays in touch with Porter Moser. This place shaped him.
After the ceremony, tucked inside the LNC tunnel, Hield laughed and joked with Lattin and Woodard like nothing had changed. Ten years melted away.
"It's been great looking back at how 10 years went by so fast,” Hield said. “Seeing Spang and I'll tell you one thing, all the coaches and everybody, they look younger, so that's a plus.
“It's the same energy, same charisma, same smiles and the same vibe of a lot of fun times we shared during my four years here.”
Things have changed. College basketball stars used to stay and build four-year bonds back when Hield’s aura lit up LNC night after night.
But one thing will never change after Saturday night — Hield’s name and number aren’t going anywhere.
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Buddy Hield's OU jersey retirement: A rare sight in college hoops
