As I'm struggling to get excited about the OU/Baylor game this weekend I thought focusing on basketball for a little while might be good therapy. The Big 12 preseason selections are out with Oklahoma's Willie Warren tabbed as an All-Conference selection.
| Name, School |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
Hometown/Previous School(s) |
| Craig Brackins, Iowa State** | F | 6-10 | 230 | Jr. | Palmdale, Calif./Brewster Academy [N.H.] |
| Cole Aldrich, Kansas | C | 6-11 | 245 | Jr. | Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson |
| Sherron Collins, Kansas** | G | 5-11 | 205 | Sr. | Chicago, Ill./Crane |
| Willie Warren, Oklahoma | G | 6-4 | 199 | So. | Fort Worth, Texas/North Crowley |
| James Anderson, Oklahoma State |
G/F | 6-6 | 205 | Jr. | Junction City, Ark./Junction City |
| Damion James, Texas | G/F | 6-7 | 225 | Sr. | Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacogdoches |
There's no doubt that with the departure of Blake Griffin this has become Warren's team and much like Griffin he could be two-and-out at Oklahoma. I suspect that the Sooners will move to more of an up-tempo offense to take advantage of a talented group of guards that includes Warren, Tony Crocker and freshman Tommie Mason-Griffin.
In addition to being named to as a First Team All-Conference selection, Warren is also one of six Big 12 basketball players named to the preseason Wooden Award Top 50 List. He's joined by Craig Brackins (Iowa State), Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich (Kansas), J.T. Tiller (Missouri), and Damion James (Texas). Warren averaged 14.6 points and 3.1 assists per game last season as a freshman.
As far as rankings go the Sooners are among four Big 12 schools ranked in the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason Top 25. The Kansas Jayhawks take the top spot, followed by Texas at #3, then the Sooners at #17 followed by OSU at 21.
1. Kansas
2. Michigan State
3. Texas
4. Villanova
5. North Carolina
6. Purdue
7. Kentucky
8. California
9. Duke
10. Tennessee
11. Butler
12. West Virginia
13. Georgia Tech
14. Minnesota
15. Syracuse
16. Ohio State
17. OKLAHOMA
18. Connecticut
19. Dayton
20. Maryland
21. Oklahoma State
22. Michigan
23. Washington
24. Georgetown
25. (tie) Siena
25. Illinois