How good is Hield? Teammates, opponents weigh in

— -- On Saturday, Wooden Award front-runner Buddy Hield and Oklahoma will face Villanova in the Final Four at NRG Stadium in Houston, the Sooners' first appearance in the national semifinals since 2002.

Hield's breathtaking performances (29.2 PPG, 70 percent shooting on his 2s, 47.5 percent on his 3-pointers in the NCAA tournament) -- including a 37-point performance in front of Kobe Bryant during Oklahoma's 80-68 victory over Oregon in the Elite Eight -- continue to captivate college basketball fans around the country.

He also has surprised some of his teammates, past and present, and the opposing coaches and players who have tried to stop him throughout his career. We've gathered some insight on Hield the competitor, the playmaker, the teammate, the playful trash-talker and the goofball, from the folks who have watched this journey up close:

Georges Niang, Iowa State forward

The last time we played, I think it was off like a high-ball screen and I hedged hard and we ended up switching and he hit like a fallaway jumper. And as he let it go, he was like, "Oh yeah, Georgy!" That's just a funny Buddy moment. He was so locked in and feeling himself. It was like being out at the playground. He became more of a trash-talker this year. He's just so locked in on winning.

Lawrence Fejokwu, Coppin State center and Hield's high school teammate at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas

He was just this little kid that was always smiling and happy. On the basketball court, he's a different person. He's happy, but his intensity is really high. . . . We lived together. We all lived in one big house. We had this Saturday morning when everyone was sleeping and during a blizzard, Buddy wakes up really early and just grabs a bucket of snow and he's just dumping it on everybody in the house. We got mad because most of us, we're coming from countries with no snow. I was mad at first. . . . That is Buddy.

Charles "Softly" Robbins, president of the Bahamas Basketball Federation and Hield's youth coach

Hield was a young kid. Nine or 10 years old. We went down to his area, which is Eight Mile Rock [in the Bahamas] for a camp. He wasn't that good at free throws, and I wasn't that good at free throws. I said, "I'll challenge any of you kids who can hit 10 out of 10" or whatever. All the little kids didn't do it, but here comes little Buddy. And we ended up tied. I hit five and he hit five. He always worked at his game. . . . He always could handle the ball pretty well for his size and his age. What he had was a determination to always learn and come to you and say, "Coach, how do you shoot it that well?" I used to play basketball and I had a pretty good jump shot and he always wanted to know, "What do you do to get yourself better?" We are so proud of him. We are very proud of Buddy and his accomplishments.

Lon Kruger, Oklahoma coach

Early on -- he's got this bubbly personality, obviously -- he came in to my office one day and said, "Hey, Daddy-o." I said, "Daddy-o? Is that a good thing? A bad thing?" He said, "No, no, no, that's a good thing. You're special. You're Daddy-o." I was like, "All right, I'll live with that." Then he walked out, and someone else was walking by, and he said, "Hey, Daddy-o." He kinda looked around and caught my eye, and I kinda acted hurt like, "I thought Daddy-o was special?" And without missing a beat, he said, "No -- you're the big Daddy-o!"

Christian James, Oklahoma guard

We were playing one-on-one [before the NCAA tournament] and I was guarding him, and I stole [the ball]. He looked at me and shook his head. That told me something about my defense. But next play, he called a bucket before he even shot it. It was a big brother thing.

Ryan Spangler, Oklahoma forward

Buddy is probably one of the biggest pranksters on the team. He always pulls chairs out from under people so they fall. So we were at one of the sorority chili cook-offs, we go there every year as the judges. Buddy doesn't like spicy. They rank them 1 through 5, with 5 being the spiciest. [ Isaiah Cousins] put a 1 on a cup, but put the spiciest [chili] in there and gave it to Buddy. He took a couple bites before he realized how hot it was. There were tears coming out of eyes, he ran out of the room -- that was one of the funniest things.

Jordan Woodard, Oklahoma guard

My favorite is when he told me he was going for 40 when Kobe Bryant was going to show up [for the Oregon game]. Kobe told him he was coming back [after the Texas A&M win], so Buddy said, that next game he was going to score 40 in front of him. He came up a little short. He was close enough, though.

Elgin Cook, Oregon forward

He's a great player, and he was active. He was moving around a lot. He made it tough on us. We tried to crowd him, tried our best to corral him and keep him out of open areas, but he made a lot of tough shots.

Rico Gathers, Baylor forward

There was no player better in the Big 12, let alone the country, coming back this year. His ability to find his shot in time of need is what makes him special. An instant playmaker. I personally believe he is the best player in college basketball and should be highly considered as the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. You won't find a player better.

Anytime anyone in our program has been in OU's arena ever, Buddy has been in there working on his game. Night before the game, practice, day of the game, shootaround, when we arrive 90 minutes before the game, he's always there. The guy is always working.

Josh Pastner, Memphis coach

Buddy is the best NBA prospect and most NBA-ready player we faced all year. He hit tough shots over and over, plus he had an explosive first step.

Gabriel Olaseni, former Iowa standout and Hield's high school teammate

What I remember most on the court about him is how passionate he was to do the little things. Whether it was an early, 7 a.m. practice or late-night weights in the freezing cold, he was always ready to work and lifted guys' spirits when they didn't want to. Off the court, he was just this playful character. He was always joking around and blasting his music ridiculously loud in the shower for about an hour. It annoyed a lot of us, but I guess he earned that right since he works so hard as soon as he gets up in the morning.