NORMAN, Okla. — It’s that time of year when stumbling Oklahoma is in need of reliability from someone besides the best player in the country.
The 27-5 Sooners are relying on this: a freshman guard who, in no particular order, got suspended from his high school team as a sophomore and junior, bolted famed Oak Hill Academy before he launched a jump shot that counted, dissed Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and got benched for a game this year.
Like Oklahoma’s four losses in its last six games, however, Willie Warren’s troubles apparently are in the past. He’s backing player of the year Blake Griffin with 14.7 points a game and has emerged as the No. 3 freshman scorer set to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Warren is one of several freshmen who will have a role in how far their teams advance, much like Derrick Rose last year while leading Memphis to the title game.
Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel was undeterred that Warren once had to talk his way back onto his North Crowley High School team in Fort Worth, Texas.
“They were recruiting me for three years,” Warren said recently in Oklahoma’s sparkling practice gym. “They knew what kind of player I was and what kind of guy I was off the court. They knew they weren’t getting a head case.”
The head case rap could have begun early in Texas when his reputation as class clown wasn’t cutting it at home with his mother, Malaika Frazier, who played college basketball at Langston in Oklahoma and knew the importance of discipline.
She also knew the importance of spanking. If Warren doesn’t like to sit on a bench, now you know why. The Dallas Morning News described Frazier as “a middling mom.” Accurate, Willie?
“Yes,” he said. “In every way. She does everything for me. Punishings, it’s all her. She was the male in the family also because I could talk to her about anything. She always had my back.”
Warren, however, was still learning. He started his prep career at Cedar Hill High near Dallas, and a promising sophomore season spun out of control into in-house bickering.
He transferred to North Crowley, where his grades were fine. But he wanted to prepare for college and left for Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Many look at Oak Hill as college prep; Warren saw it as a military academy. He pleaded for his North Crowley teammates to take him back.
Refocused, Warren averaged 24.9 points and led North Crowley to a 38-1 record and the Class 5A state title while he earned Texas player of the year honors.
In light of his high school prowess, going to a camp and challenging Bryant to a game to 5 and “I’ll spot you four points,” Warren said, didn’t go over well in the media.
“I was joking,” Warren said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. How many times do I get face to face with Kobe? Everybody else was standing there in awe.”
Warren is in awe of no one but his mother. That’s why he declined taking a picture with James. Capel loved his confidence and newfound emotional maturity, which went well with his physical maturity.
The 6-foot-4, 207-pound bull has not disappointed. When Griffin went down with his concussion, Warren scored 27 points at Texas and 23 against Kansas. His 3-point dagger buried Oklahoma State’s comeback hopes on March 7.
However, he’s also only 11-of-32 shooting in the past four games. That must improve when Oklahoma opens Thursday against Morgan State in Kansas City, Mo., with Clemson or Michigan looming.
“I don’t judge Willie by points,” Capel said. “I know a lot of people do. In my mind, Willie’s a playmaker and he’s a guy who makes plays.”
He grew up in Texas. Now it’s time he stepped up in March.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
Other star freshmen in NCAA Tournament
Tyreke Evans, Memphis: G, Chester, Pa., 6-feet-6, 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds/game
Isaiah Thomas, Washington: G, Tacoma, Wash., 5-8, 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds
DeMar DeRozan, USC: F, Compton, Calif., 6-7, 13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds
Gordon Hayward, Butler: G-F, Brownsburg, Ind., 6-8, 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest: F, Norcross, Ga., 6-9, 12.8 points, 8.2 rebounds
John Henderson, The Denver Post
