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Wrong may not be the right word. The whirlwind of news coverage that transpired last year when the heralded guard was uncommitted was phenomenal.
Willie Warren is a Fort Worth, TX native and is one of the top prospects in the 2008 class. Warren has the ability to score from anywhere on the court and is also among the most athletic players in the nation. Warren had close ties to Coach Gillespie while the coach was at Texas A&M. When Gillespie left A&M for UK it was rumored that he told Warren:
“I am going to UK and your coming with me.”
Late last spring during an interview on KSR with Matt Jones, Warren seemed seemed like he was on the brink of committing to UK. Jones was also encouraged by the interview, later saying:
“I thought he was was going to commit on the air”
From that point on, things quickly deteriorated for the Wildcats’. First it was rumored that Warren committed to Baylor. Warren’s mother said that she would not allow her son to commit to Baylor, she promptly relieved her son of his cell phone privileges. Later in the Summer Jody Demling had this to say about Warren recruitment saga:
Warren listed Kansas, Texas, UCLA, Arizona, Connecticut and Florida in the paper this week.
What happened to Kentucky? I wouldn’t fret Wildcat fans!
I for one think Warren sometimes doesn’t even know what schools are on his list. When I spoke to him at the Kingwood Classic in Houston in April - two days after several reports had him close to committing to UK - he told another reporter his list (that didn’t include UK or UConn) and then turned around (literally) and spoke to me 30 seconds later and gave me a list with UK and UConn on it but not Arizona (like the other reporter had).
And then just two weeks ago in Nashville, Warren told a group of reporters (all that cover the UK program) that his list was long and he had decided to listen to everyone. But he went on when asked what schools were coming after him the hardest, to say:
“It’s hard to tell cause there are many schools that are coming just as hard, but if I had to say, it would probably be Oklahoma, Marquette, UConn, Texas and Kentucky.”
Marquette was a new one on me there. But I honestly believe the kid is listening to everyone and just changes his list on a regular basis. There’s nothing wrong with keeping a lot of coaches happy, even if it keeps all of us confused.
“Willie ain’t coming, Willie wants to shine.”
In July of 07′ Rising Senior Willie Warren told the Lexington Herald-Leader that Kentucky has slid down his list of schools because of all the guards the Wildcats have received commitments from.
“It’s going to be tough for Kentucky now,” the Texas native said. “I want to get in and make an immediate impact. I don’t want to got to a school were if I don’t play well right away, I can be substituted for.”
Had Warren committed to UK it would of been huge. Warren posted a ton of 30 point games last season at North Crowley. In January Warren scored 30, playing on a bad ankle. On February, 27 Warren led his squad to a win over Duncanville (TX), one of the best teams in the nation. Warren also posted 47 points on March 7 against Midland Lee.
In the end Warren committed to Oklahoma and it may be best for everyone. Willie seems happy and is close enough to home. Warren does seem to be eyeing the NBA and rightfully so. The Cat’s need some consistency and some time to develop chemistry. Warren is a good kid but is seemingly not interested in playing college ball for any substantial amount of time.
