What will Warren do for an encore? Appears we'll find out
Published: 1/31/2009 8:46 PM
Last Modified: 1/31/2009 8:46 PM
Appreciate, for a moment, what Willie Warren did for the Oklahoma Sooners Saturday afternoon at Iowa State.
The Cyclones began the game by double-teaming Blake Griffin, so Warren made them pay with absurdly long 3-pointers. The Cyclones answered Warren's bombardment by getting up in his face, even 25 feet from the basket, so Warren responded by swooping through the lane and finishing. Austin Johnson, bogged down by both foul trouble and Iowa State point guard Diante Garrett, became a non-factor until the final few minutes, so Warren took it upon himself to run OU's offense.
The final numbers: 29 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnover in 39 minutes.
Days like this show exactly why Warren has joined teammate Blake Griffin on some 2009 NBA mock draft boards. Should the Sooners worry about losing two underclassmen early?
Doesn't sound like it, to Jeff Capel's relief.
I asked Warren about OU forward Juan Pattillo last week, and one of the things Warren said he told the former redshirt was, "I'm gonna be here next year with you. We'll just have to show 'em what we've got next year."
Then there was what Warren recently announced to SI.com college basketball writer Luke Winn:
"I'm definitely going to wear 32 next year, after Taylor (Griffin) has graduated."
"So you're staying at Oklahoma for another year for sure," Winn asked Warren.
"Yeah, I'm staying."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
