Newest Sooner isn't shy
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| "I care what people think, but I've got to be me," says Oklahoma freshman Willie Warren. (Joe Murphy/NBAE / Getty Images) |
Immensely talented. Volume shooter. Cocky. Selfish.
Capel opted to take a look for himself.
"When I saw him, I didn't see it," Capel said of the label that had been placed on the Dallas-area standout at the time. "I saw a guy who hated to lose, someone who didn't always display a good attitude when things didn't go his way."
Capel then remembered back to his days in AAU ball — when he teamed with Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis — and the trio had been labeled as having far too much swagger.
Or the time he had already committed to Duke and went to Nike Camp.
"I hated it," he admitted. "It was against everything I was about. Everyone was just trying to prove a point. There were times when I wouldn't even get up to go into the huddle with the team."
Capel could relate on some level with Warren.
Now Warren, a McDonald's All-American, will be the key to the Sooners' season. Capel can basically put a double-double for sophomore big man Blake Griffin in permanent marker each and every game. But Warren is the wild card for what could be the most potent inside-outside duo in the country.
Warren is arguably as talented as any perimeter scorer entering college this season.
"He can score and that's what I love," Griffin said. "He can pull up, take it to the hole or face up and shoot it. It's too hard to stop him."
"I'd compare him to Eric Gordon," he added. "He uses his body well, is very physical and can also shoot it from deep."
Warren isn't one of those kids who is afraid to go away from the norm. When attending the LeBron James Skills Academy a little more than a year ago, he was the lone player who chose not to take a picture with King James.
"People said I was cocky, but I didn't want to take a picture with someone so young who hopefully one day I'll get to play against in the NBA," Warren said. "I know he's great. We all do. He's one of my favorite players."
Warren also had a short stint at Oak Hill Academy — which certainly didn't help his reputation.
"I didn't really want to go in the first place, but I had joked about it for a while with my mom and I thought it would be cool to go," Warren said.
Warren said Oak Hill isn't for everyone — and it definitely wasn't for him. He returned home shortly after the season began and found that his former teammates at North Crowley High weren't exactly embracing him.
"I had to earn their trust back by working," Warren said. "It was a tough season."
Warren got into it with a teammate early in the year, but North Crowley came together and wound up winning a state title. Warren averaged 24.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds as a senior.
"I knew I got their trust back when we were all crying after one playoff game," Warren said.
Warren is making certain that his new teammates, especially Griffin, hold no resentment.
"Blake's the main reason I chose OU," Warren admitted. "I wanted to play with a dominant center. I wanted to be (like former Ohio State stars) Mike Conley and have a Greg Oden."
Then Warren caught himself and laughed.
"But I think I probably shoot it a little more than Conley," he said.
The first time that Warren was paired on the same team as Griffin earlier this summer, he made certain to get the big man involved and show him that it's Griffin's team.
"The first three or four trips down the floor, he gave me the ball," Griffin said. "I think he was worried I'd get mad."
Capel is the only one who'll be upset if Warren defers too much to the star of the team.
"Sometimes as a freshman, the tendency is not to rock the boat," Capel said. "But we need Willie to be Willie."
In short, that means for Warren to play with the swagger than may turn off some — and blow others away.
"I care what people think, but I've got to be me," Warren said. "I think I'm far from cocky, but I try to hide it with swagger on the court."
There's no shortage of swagger — or ability.
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