Buddy Hield named Naismith player of year
HOUSTON (AP) -- Oklahoma senior guard Buddy Hield has won the James A. Naismith Trophy as the nation's top college player.
The award presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club was announced Sunday, a day after Hield was held to nine points in the Sooners' 95-51 loss to Villanova in a national semifinal game.
Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose Wildcats (34-5) play North Carolina on Monday night for the national championship, was named the Naismith coach of the year for the second time. He joined three-time winners John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski as the only coaches to win the award multiple times.
Hield, the two-time Big 12 Player of the Year, averaged 25 points a game. He also won the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and finished a close second to Michigan State's Denzel Valentine for The Associated Press Player of the Year Award.