Oklahoma Sooners
Men's Basketball
Willie Warren |
Introducing Willie Warren - Part Two
July 7, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. - Willie Warren, the most highly regarded high school guard signee in OU men's basketball history, has arrived in Norman.
A consensus All-American last year at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas, Warren is on campus attending class and working out. He is expected to play a major role on a 2008-09 Sooners team that just a couple of weeks ago was ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com.
Warren recently sat down with SoonerSports.com for an extensive two-part Q&A. Part two is below. Click here for part one.
Did you watch a lot of OU's games last year?
"The games that I could catch I watched. The most disappointing one to me was the Louisville game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, because I had a feeling OU was going to be a sleeper and get that one. I had them going to the Sweet 16. But all in all I thought the team was very successful. Blake Griffin had a very good year and they were just a couple players away from being able to make it past a team like Louisville."
Do you have a most memorable shot?
"Yes. We had lost to El Paso Montwood two years in a row in the high school playoffs. We played them again this past year in the playoffs and we were behind pretty much the whole game and I was 0-for-9 on 3-pointers. They made a layup with seven seconds left to go up by three. We got the ball and I shot one from just beyond NBA (3-point) range at the buzzer. I made it, we went to overtime and we ended up winning by three."
Do you have a favorite move with the ball in your hand?
"I would have to say my hesitation pull-up. I learned the move from Tracy McGrady -- you act like you're going to cross over, take a long step and pull up and hit the jump shot."
Do you have any superstitions?
"Yes, I'm very superstitious. If we go to halftime and I'm playing poorly, I'll make sure I come out for the second half in a different pair of shoes."
Have you ever changed shoes on the bench?
"No, not on the bench. I always wait until halftime because you never know, something could kick in. I could be off in the first quarter and then come back and be hot in the second quarter."
Your mom was a star basketball player at Langston University just up the road near Guthrie. Was she excited when you told her you wanted to go to OU since she's familiar with the area?
"I don't even think the area mattered. She was just happy I got a scholarship so she didn't have to pay for my college education. She would have been happy anywhere I went. She's just happy to see me on this stage and growing up. She's already had a few crying episodes since I've been gone but I talk to her a lot and let her know I appreciate everything she's done for me."
Will she be at a lot of the team's games?
"She's given up coaching so she can come watch me. She's a middle school health teacher and she's also been coaching for 13 or 14 years. Now she's dropping the coaching and just teaching. She said she doesn't care where the first game is -- it could be in Alaska -- she'll be there."
Have you determined a major?
"I want to major in news broadcasting and sports administration."
What's your favorite TV show?
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And it makes me a little mad that I can't find it on TV here in Norman."
What's your favorite movie?
"I have a bunch. There's Above the Rim, The Sixth Man, Love and Basketball, Remember the Titans and Coach Carter."
What's your favorite food?
"My mom's spaghetti and fried chicken."
Do you have any individual goals as a freshman?
"I want to average 15 points and eight assists, and maybe five or six rebounds."
What are you most looking forward to in your first year?
"Winning a national championship. Coach Capel and I have a little thing going. I feel I'm better than he was when he was a freshman. He said, 'When you lead your team to the national championship game, talk to me.' I said, 'Did you win it, Coach?' He said, 'No.' So I said, 'Okay, then I've got a little room where I can be better than you."
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