Sans Griffin, Sooners can take solace
With apologies to Jeff Capel, there was reason for the Oklahoma men’s basketball team to take solace in what happened at Texas.
Saturday night in Austin, a lost superstar meant a lost game for the Sooners. Blake Griffin suffered a concussion, and I don’t know about you, but it was tough watching the big guy on the bench. He had that spaced out look that’s scary to see.
His teammates, though, were sharp. Even without Griffin, the Sooners were within a whisker of beating a good Texas team in a rowdy environment.
The Longhorns triumphed — barely — and afterward, Capel dismissed the idea that there was anything good about the way his Sooners lost, declaring no moral victories for the program. I get what the OU coach is saying, but really, there was plenty to celebrate in the way the Sooners played.
Losing Griffin, after all, will be the biggest concern for this team come the postseason. He could tweak an ankle. He could get into serious foul trouble. Where might that leave the Sooners?
The answer came Saturday in Austin — it would still leave them in pretty good shape.
Now, you can’t lose the best player in college basketball without having a dip. But the Sooners showed that they are still a pretty good team sans Griffin.
Willie Warren is a flat-out gamer. The true freshman was clutch against the Longhorns, scoring 27 points.
Austin Johnson was solid. Check out this balanced stat line — six points, seven rebounds, six assists, no turnovers
Warren, Johnson and the rest of the able-bodied starters all played 35 minutes plus in the game, too. They hung tough, especially the big guys. Texas, after all, has quality depth in the post and played none of its bigs any more than 25 minutes.
There were definitely positives signs for the Sooners even in their loss.
Now, I’m not saying that they are as good without Griffin. With Big Blake, the Sooners are a national championship contender. Without him, they are not. But the good news is, now they know that they can manage if they have to go awhile in a game without him.
Better to find that out now rather than wonder about it when the calendar turns to March.
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