REGRETFULLY YET ANOTHER UPDATE: And the hits just keep on a coming.
Update #3 - Okay, now it's just getting ridiculous. As SoonerDutch posted in the comments, evidently Ray Willis according to several sources (namely his Facebook page apparently) has also quit the team.
Apparently McDonald's All-Americans aren't all they're cracked up to be. Well, at least in Oklahoma's case. Coming of the most disappointing basketball season in a long, long time Oklahoma's three former McDonald's All-Americans are finding themselves subject to the rumor mills for all the wrong reasons.
Keep in mind that we're just dealing with rumors here but I've always said that where there's smoke there's fire and over the last couple of weeks we've seen a lot of smoke. Oklahoma's Big Three certainly didn't gel and the questionable character issues that have been talked about seem to be the root of the issues.
Tiny Gallon- The television/internet version of a National Inquirer type gossip rag, TMZ, turned up some some documentation that indicates Tiny might be on the take. Apparently Tiny (or members of his family) took a sum of $3,000 from a potential agent. Not sure which is more humorous here - Tiny thinking that he's close enough to the NBA to secure money from an agent before he even played his first season of college basketball, an agent thinking that Tiny is close enough to the NBA to try and secure him with a lump sum of cash before he even plays his first season of college basketball, or TMZ covering OU athletics when there are much bigger stories out there, like where Michael Jackson and Elvis are hanging out and spending the millions their estates have made since their, "untimely deaths."
Regardless of the source, if Tiny took the cash he's gonna need to be done at OU.
Tommy Mason-Griffin- If you see him around Norman please let your local TMZ reporter know or at least let us know that's he's not still sitting on a couch in Houston. The rumors last week were that TMG cleaned out his locker and headed home to Houston for spring break with no intentions of returning. The hope was that someone would see him on campus (or in class) today as campus life resumed to normal this week.
Willie Warren - The latest juicy rumor has it that Warren has been told that he doesn't have a scholarship next season. Warren struggled in getting along with teammates his freshman year and had significant issues this past season. As if that weren't enough, there's no denying the fact that Warren quit on his team this season.
A future that once looked so bright with these three guys now couldn't look more bleak. However, at this point, I'd take three JUCO guys who give 100% and play with heart over three high school All-Americans who let their Texas sized egos and sense of entitlement block any concept of what it means to sacrifice and play team ball. If the rumors turn out the be true then Jeff Capel feels the same way. He's on the road recruiting this week and it'll certainly be interesting to see if there are any statements released from the university upon his return on Friday.
Update (6:54 PM) - While he doesn't cite a source, Kirk Bohls just made this look like a lot more than just a rumor - Jon Woods:
Don’t look for guard deluxe Willie Warren to be back at Oklahoma. He’s been told he does not have a scholarship. Tiny Gallon could follow him out the door. Oh, if you think Texas’ year has been bad, feel the Sooners’ pain after Sam Bradford’s lost season and only a Sun Bowl win (yippee) and OU’s failure to even make the NIT in basketball.