The paths of eventual New Orleans Pelicans first-year teammates Buddy Hield and Cheick Diallo crossed at least twice during the 2015-16 college basketball season, when their Oklahoma and Kansas teams met in Big 12 matchups. In a Jan. 4 triple-overtime game that epitomized both players’ seasons, Hield piled up a career-high 46 points, highlighted by 8/15 three-point shooting. Meanwhile, Diallo played just five minutes, making a dent in the stat sheet only by registering one rebound and one foul (though his Jayhawks prevailed 109-106).
At their joint New Orleans introductory press conference Friday, the former conference rivals were asked what they remember from that game, to which a smiling Diallo responded, “I mean, I was on the bench.