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Metairie, La. • The New Orleans Pelicans held on to their first-round choice in the NBA draft for the first time since 2012, then used it to select a relatively mature rookie who was among college basketball's best long-range shooters this past season.

New Orleans drafted Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield with the sixth overall pick Thursday night, adding a player that led his team to the Final Four and took home a number of prestigious individual honors.

Hield, who averaged 25 points per game as a senior last season, was named an AP All-American and won the prestigious Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. He hit 147 3-pointers, hitting about 46 percent of his shots from long range

"He's a phenomenal player," Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in brief comments after the pick. "He's a player we targeted. We're thrilled to have him."

Many Louisiana basketball fans became familiar with 22-year-old Hield when he played before a packed house at LSU in late January. He made seven of his eight 3-pointers in the second half on his way to a 32-point performance, helping then-No. 1 Oklahoma overcome a 14-point deficit to escape Baton Rouge with a 77-75 victory.

Hield now returns to Louisiana for his first professional gig in New Orleans, joining a Pelicans club coming off an injury-plagued, 30-52 campaign.

This year's draft marks the beginning of a busy offseason for the Pelicans, who are trying to give All-Star forward Anthony Davis a stronger supporting cast.

When free agency starts in July, New Orleans will have to decide whether to re-sign former regulars including guard Eric Gordon and forward Ryan Anderson.

Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said earlier this week that "the door remains open" for the 6-foot-4 Gordon and the 6-10 Anderson to return, but that he expected both players to test the free agency and that the Pelicans, likewise, would be exploring their own options.

Because the Pelicans drafted Hield, New Orleans will have less urgency to bring back Gordon, who averaged 15.2 points per game last season while hitting about 42 percent of his 3-point shots.

This marks the first time since 2012 — when the Pelicans selected Davis first overall — that New Orleans has had a first-round draft choice. The Pelicans traded first-round picks in 2013 and 2014 to Philadelphia as part of trade that brought guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans.

Holiday was injured for most of his first two seasons and began last season on minute restrictions, but progressed into a starting role last season and, along with Davis, is expected to comprise the core of the club going forward.

New Orleans gave up its 2015 pick in a trade that brought 7-foot center Omer Asik to the Pelicans from Houston for the 2014-15 season.