Draft Express Article: Willie Warren

[DSMok1]

FULL ARTICLE at Draft Express

The intro:

Few players in recent memory have seen their NBA draft stock and overall reputation take as big of a hit as Willie Warren’s has this past season. Considered a likely top-10 pick had he elected to declare a year ago, Warren decided to stick around for another season and has seen his stock plummet to the point that it’s anyone’s guess where he might be picked at this point.

Some terrible losses early in the season, being benched in one game for undisclosed reasons, getting called out by his head coach in the national media at one point for his immature behavior, a nagging ankle injury that seemingly won’t heal, an untimely bout of mononucleosis–it’s tough to see how this season could have possibly gone any worse for the super talented sophomore. ... MORE

It's quite an in-depth article.

 

[CokeSooner]

Think about it this way. Sam came back, got hurt, missed his year. Gresham came back, got hurt, missed his year. Warren (different sport) came back, got hurt/sick, missed most of his conference year.

To say the least, OU has had some terrible luck with guys coming back.

 

[gracefor24]

This is the most concerning statement for OU fans, imo.

Clearly playing alongside the best player in college basketball last year in Blake Griffin was far easier than the two hot-shot freshmen McDonald’s All-Americans that replaced him--Tiny Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin--who obviously have their own agendas and difficulties in regards to playing winning team basketball.

 

[DSMok1]

This doesn't look so good either:

Losing a pass-first point guard in senior Austin Johnson and seeing him replaced with a wild, ball-dominant freshman in Tommy Mason-Griffin obviously hasn’t helped either.

AJ was actually a really solid player who made others better and didn't make many mistakes... TMG has some growing pains to go through.

 

[CokeSooner]

Yep. I'm sure most people miss AJ this year. Whereas AJ was calm and cool, TMG can be hectic and frenetic. However, no discredit to AJ, but TMG is going to be the better player.

I hope that WW comes back with the right attitude, has a succesful season being a team first guy, and jumps back into next year's lottery. That was a great analysis btw, thanks for posting.

 

[buttermaker1]

TMG has played great this last few weeks remember he is a True Freshman

 

[SoonerInJersey]

This is the most concerning statement for OU fans, imo.

Clearly playing alongside the best player in college basketball last year in Blake Griffin was far easier than the two hot-shot freshmen McDonald’s All-Americans that replaced him--Tiny Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin--who obviously have their own agendas and difficulties in regards to playing winning team basketball.

Not sure what the author is getting at here. Willie has not suffered for touches this year. And when in he has gotten defference from TMG. Tiny has been demanding of the ball, but personally I think that is a good thing. We need an inside game. And Tiny has been good about passing after getting the ball.

 

[OU/Atlanta]

I think everyone here has short memories relative to Austin Johnson. Yes, he is missed this year but he was turn-over prone and was really a #2 forced to play PG and he was NOT a good ball handler and an average passer. Let's not make it out that we're missing an AA or even an all B12 PG in AJ. I don't miss him.

Very concerned about what's going on and the future of Sooner BB. Trammel's article this week was the best article I've seen in some time. Coach Capel deserves much of the blame for 1) recruiting any head-cases, 2) not motivating them individually to reach team goals and 3) not letting the wheels fall off. As a fan, I did not expect this bunch to make it to the elite 8 but missing the tournament was never on my radar. Now, we're looking at a 14-18 type season which is completely unacceptable.

 

[DenverSooner]

Not sure what the author is getting at here. Willie has not suffered for touches this year. And when in he has gotten defference from TMG. Tiny has been demanding of the ball, but personally I think that is a good thing. We need an inside game. And Tiny has been good about passing after getting the ball.

What he is getting at, right or wrong, is that WW is not the only problem with the OU basketball team. Blaming everything on WW is far too easy and honestly is like saying Capel is a moron. If that is the only problem, Capel solves it by removing WW from the team.

 

[seniorsooner]

(Insert gif of dead horse being beaten here)

 

[Seymore Cox]

The biggest reason that WW status is tanking is not because he has shown a consistent lack of effort, not because he's been injured, not because he's now labeled as a malcontent, but on the facts that he has show to be a shaky ballhandler, lackluster defender, and poor shooter.

 

[DSMok1]

I think everyone here has short memories relative to Austin Johnson. Yes, he is missed this year but he was turn-over prone and was really a #2 forced to play PG and he was NOT a good ball handler and an average passer. Let's not make it out that we're missing an AA or even an all B12 PG in AJ. I don't miss him.

AJ: Honorable mention all-Big XII.
2.4 to 1 Assist to TO ratio (one of the best in the country). 1.3 steals, 0.8 blocks a game (good defender).

I think he's still underrated, and that he was the second-best player on the team last year. I had him at a +6 points per 100 possessions with statistical plus/minus, which is better than anyone on the team this year (of course BG was at like +15).

 

[Cheno]

What he is getting at, right or wrong, is that WW is not the only problem with the OU basketball team. Blaming everything on WW is far too easy and honestly is like saying Capel is a moron. If that is the only problem, Capel solves it by removing WW from the team.

People aren't saying that.

Warren is the kind of guy that could quickly fade into oblivion if he’s not willing to adapt his game to playing alongside better players than him (and accept that fact), but he could also end up making many GMs look quite foolish if he matures and lands in a good situation.

This statement from that article sums it all up. It's up to WW.

 

[jerry]

The biggest reason that WW status is tanking is not because he has shown a consistent lack of effort, not because he's been injured, not because he's now labeled as a malcontent, but on the facts that he has show to be a shaky ballhandler, lackluster defender, and poor shooter.

And add very immature to that. The NBA is a man's game and Warren is still a little boy.

 

[Sid]

The biggest reason that WW status is tanking is not because he has shown a consistent lack of effort, not because he's been injured, not because he's now labeled as a malcontent, but on the facts that he has show to be a shaky ballhandler, lackluster defender, and poor shooter.

Thank you.