While the first day started off with the shock of Buddy not winning the AP Player of the Year award, Friday we were finally given the announcement we expected. Buddy Hield was named the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year.
Sights and sounds from Final Four FridaySights and sounds from Final Four Friday in Houston. Hear from Oscar Robertson and Buddy Hield and find out why Lon Kruger's college nickname was 'Slick.'
Posted by KJRH on Saturday, April 2, 2016
Not only was Buddy given the accolade but Oscar himself was there. Big Al laughingly told me that he believed the University of Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger was more excited to sit next to Oscar than Buddy. If that was the case, then he was the only one in the stadium, it seemed.
RELATED: Final Four trip Day 1
Whether it was the first day or because Buddy didn’t win an award Thursday, but our first day definitely differed from the second in that more people had just one thing on their minds: The Sooners and Buddy.
We spoke with former OU player Najera who talked about his confidence in the Sooners for the game against Villanova Saturday. Catch that full interview here, or in the player below.
Big Al chats with Eduardo NajeraBig Al goes 1-on-1 with former Oklahoma Sooners Eduardo Najera about this year's Sooners squad and what he expects from them in the Final Four.
Posted by KJRH on Friday, April 1, 2016
Big Al also caught up with a Bahamas reporter who was more than happy to talk about his home country hero. He mentioned that so many people, including his daughter, love Buddy and wear his number as a tribute. Check out that interview here.
While you might be thinking, “Well, sure, there’s Sooner mania circulating around the basketball pros and media but what about everyone else?”
I thought the same thing, too. So, Big Al and myself decided to check out the Sooner’s open practice where fans were allowed to sit in and watch. We literally followed Kruger and the team into the stadium and instantly I was taken aback. The once quiet stadium we looked around Thursday, dark and almost hollow, was now alive with color. One color in particular stood out to me: Crimson.
So I grabbed the selfie stick, that I’ve been assured several times is cool and doesn’t make me look like a dork, and started filming live. Fans were everywhere screaming and jumping up and down.
Big Al and I were able to meet two fans that were from the Tulsa area. We met one man that told us this event was his first rodeo into national tournaments. Check that out here, or in the player below.
Final Four: Practice time at the stadium ?
Posted by KJRH on Friday, April 1, 2016
Two young fans in particular talked about how they didn’t have tickets and were still looking for Saturday. That notion had the three of us, Cayden, Al and myself, thinking about all the tickets and many levels of seats. Of course, the stadium is huge, expected to hold around 75,000. We decided to check out the highest level of seating. We climbed many stairs and finally made it to the top. I was a little nervous but thankfully the stadium is situated for even the highest seats to feel safe. Check out the snaps I took while we were there. (Also follow us on Snap Chat: kjrh2)
After all the fandom and nose-bleed section sitting, we went to eat at a really nice restaurant. I mean like I had to make sure I wasn’t wear the jeans I wear almost every day nice. We had steaks and our waiter used a tiny comb to get the crumbs off our table.
Final Four: Day 2 Recap
Posted by KJRH on Friday, April 1, 2016
When all the fancy de-crumbing was complete, only the looming prospect of Saturday’s game was on our minds.
If you are unable to see Cayden and Big Al's recap of the day, click here to watch!
Get ready, guys, it’s Saturday around 5 p.m. CST. Keep an eye out for our Facebook lives, snaps, tweets and coverage on our website and app!
BOOMER SOONER!
