Much was expected and much was given by Oklahoma's new young guns Tuesday night in the team's first basketball exhibition game of the season. The Sooners had six players score 10 points or more in their 93-53 win over British Columbia and four of those were new players. Tiny Gallon was a rebound away from posting a double-double. He had 10 points and 9 boards but possibly his best stat was that he shot 5-6 from the floor. While that one rebounded eluded him his nine did lead the team.
Gallon's fellow McDonald's All-American, Tommie Mason-Griffin, went an impressive 4-6 from beyond the arch to score 12 points in his debut as a Sooner. However, the most impressive performance by one of the new guards was put on by Steven Pledger who also wen 4-6 from beyond the arch and added an old-fashioned two point basket as well for a total of 14 points in 18 minutes of playing time. Both Gallon and Mason-Griffin played 23 minutes each.
Not to be outdone by the other freshmen Andrew Fitzgerald put in a performance to be proud of as well. OU's freshman forward muscled his way to the free-throw line, converting 4-6, and dropped off a 3-5 shooting performance to finish with 10 points as well.
Oklahoma was strong in the paint (34 points) which is something that they'll need to continue to develop. As long as they are shooting three's the way they did (Cade Davis was also 2-2) it will make points in the paint a lot easier to come by. The Sooners must prove that they still have an inside/outside game without Blake Griffin on the floor and at least for their first performance we saw them do that.
By the way, Chilly Willie Warren had a quiet 23 points on a night where much of the spotlight was on the newcomers.