Preseason player of the year
G Willie Warren, Soph., Oklahoma
Blake Griffin is gone, yet the best player in college basketball is still at Oklahoma. How on earth could that be true?
Willie Warren is the answer to that question, and he'll handle any others you have, as well. He loves to talk as much as he loves to shoot—and is great at both.
"Yeah, I'm a little more vocal than Blake," Warren says. "I get pumped for every big play. I'm an emotional player. I let my emotions get caught up in the game sometimes."
Warren averaged 14.6 points as a freshman playing a supporting role to Griffin, but when Griffin was injured late in the season, Warren showed how prolific he could be. He averaged 25 points in the two games Griffin missed all or part of after suffering a concussion. Warren also produced games of 35 points against Arkansas and 29 against Iowa State—both on the road.
This season, Warren will be the first offensive option on a full-time basis. "I've always been in this situation," he says. "It's just a different stage now. I did it on the high school level, and now hopefully I can do it on a collegiate level."
In the 50-year history of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, only three programs have had different players win in consecutive years: UCLA had Sidney Wicks in 1971 and Bill Walton 1972, St. John's had Chris Mullin in 1985 and Walter Berry in 1986, and Duke had Shane Battier in 2001 and Jason Williams in 2002.
When Kansas was recruiting Warren out of his Texas high school, coach Bill Self came to the conclusion he'd never pursued a more gifted offensive player.
He'd rather have been wrong about that.
"It's played out to be true," Self says. "He had a fabulous rookie season. He was great against us. What he's done certainly has not surprised me one bit. He's a terrific talent."
