Griffin’s gone, but college ball in state still OK
I have no idea whether Blake Griffin will end up wearing Thunder blue next season.
Truth is, there’s too many moving parts to even make an educated guess right now.
But a couple pieces to another puzzle fell into place this week that make this educated guess possible — college basketball will be alive and well next season in Oklahoma.
On Monday, we found out that James Anderson is returning for his junior season at Oklahoma State, not leaving early for the NBA. Then on Thursday, we learned that Willie Warren will hold off on the NBA, too, and return to Oklahoma for his sophomore season.
Had those two players left, college basketball in the state would’ve looked bleak. The best three players would’ve been gone, Anderson and Warren joining Griffin in the pursuit of NBA success. We wouldn’t have called off college basketball, but man, it would’ve been tough to get excited about the season. Now, there’s plenty of reasons to be stoked about college basketball. Anderson and Warren are reasons 1-A and 1-B.
Anderson has shown glimpses of star power. He is so smooth. He just glides, whether it’s when he’s shooting or when he’s driving to the rim. He’s shown that he’s willing to work and improve his game. Anderson was so much better this season than he was as a freshman.
Improve that much again, especially on the defensive end, and Anderson will be big-time.
Ditto for Warren. The way he played for much of the season was eye-opening. Then, the way he played when Griffin was hurt was down-right amazing. He was the best player on the floor during games at Texas, then against Kansas. Those were talent-laden teams, yet on those nights, no one was better than Warren.
Improve on ball handling and shooting consistency, and Warren will be tough to stop.
Truth be told, these two guys could battle it out for Big 12 player of the year honors. Sure, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are back at Kansas. Also returning are Denis Clemente at Kansas State and LaceDarius Dunn at Baylor. But many of the conferences other top underclassmen have decided to jump to the NBA or are giving it serious consideration. That leaves Anderson and Warren with a great opportunity to emerge as the faces of the conference.
College basketball in our fair state may not have superstar power next year, but it will still be in good hands with a couple guys who are on the cusp of being stars.
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