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OU Stars Dominate Basketball's Recent Elites

Buddy Hield, Trae Young and Blake Griffin earned three of ESPN's top 11 spots among individual player seasons in the one-and-done era
John E. Hoover|
OU Stars Dominate Basketball's Recent Elites
OU Stars Dominate Basketball's Recent Elites

Oklahoma basketball has produced some remarkable individual seasons.

ESPN recently ranked the 50 best individual seasons by one player in the one-and-done era (since 2007), and three Sooners show up — not only in the top 50, but in the top 11.

While Zion Williamson’s 2018-19 season ranks No. 1 overall, OU produced three of the next 10 picks.

  • Buddy Hield’s 2015-16 season ranks No. 7,
  • Trae Young’s 2017-18 season ranks No. 9,
  • Blake Griffin’s 2008-09 season ranks No. 11.

No other school had even two players ranked in the top 12.

SEE THE FULL LIST (requires ESPN subscription) 

The 6-foot-4 Hield was a senior when he won the John Wooden Award, the Naismith Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy and Sporting News Player of the Year as college basketball’s top player.

Hield averaged 25.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game as he shot 50.1 percent from the floor, 45.7 percent from 3-point range and 88.0 percent from the free throw line while averaging 35.4 minutes per game.

The 6-1 Young was a true freshman when he won the Wayman Tisdale Award as college basketball’s top freshman and earned consensus All-America honors.

Young became the first player in college basketball history to lead the nation in both scoring (27.4 points per game) and assists (8.7 per game). He shot 42.3 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from 3-point range and 86.1 percent from the free throw line while averaging 35.4 minutes per game.

The 6-10 Griffin was a sophomore when he was unanimous national player of the year, winning the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Naismith Award, the John Wooden Award, the Adolph Rupp Trophy and player of the year by the Associated Press, Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.

Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game and led the NCAA in rebounding (504 total, also a school and Big 12 record) while also leading the Big 12 Conference in both scoring and rebounding with a Big 12-record 15 games of 20 points and 15 rebounds. Griffin shot 61.8 percent from the floor, 30.0 percent from 3-point range and 58.9 percent from the free throw line while averaging 31.4 minutes per game.

The only other players from the Big 12 Conference who made the list: No. 4 Kevin Durant of Texas, (2007), No. 27 Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State (2014), No. 28 Frank Mason of Kansas (2017), No. 29 Michael Beasley of Kansas State (2008), No. 32 Acie Law of Texas A&M (2007), No. 42 Thomas Robinson of Kansas (2012), No. 49 Udoka Azubuike of Kansas (2020) and No. 50 Jevon Carter of West Virginia (2018).

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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