By John Shinn
There was a question hanging over Oklahoma's head Tuesday night that needed an answer.
"Everybody was going to wonder how this team would fare without Blake," Sooner guard Willie Warren said.
The Sooners' 93-53 exhibition victory over the University of British Columbia may not have been a complete answer. That one won't be fully defined until the spring.
But it did show the Sooners are fully of capable of changing with the times.
Warren scored a game-high 23 points and the Sooners showed they could easily transition to a backcourt-based team.
It was the backcourt that stood out Tuesday night. That was obvious in the statistics. The Sooners shot 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from 3-point range. More impressive, they did it when Warren and Tony Crocker -- the Sooners' two returning starters -- struggled from long distance.
Warren was 0-for-2 and Crocker was 2-for-6, though both of his field goals resulted in four-point plays.
Along with junior Cade Davis, it was the Sooners' newcomers who showed the prowess from beyond the arc.
Tommy Mason-Griffin and Steven Pledger were both 4-for-6. Davis was 2-for-2
"I think we have a good shooting team," OU coach Jeff Capel said. "We chart our shots in practice and just about every day in practice, we've shot the ball very well. I think that could be a strength of this team."
As expected, the Sooners were in control throughout, but were only up by 12 at halftime. The defensive intensity picked in the second half and the Sooners quickly turned the game into a rout.
"When our defense picked up, that turned into steals and transition points and we started getting back on defense," Crocker said. "It led to us playing better on offense and executing well."
But replacing Griffin isn't an offensive-centric question. He was also the best rebounder in college basketball last season. The Sooners' presence on the glass Tuesday was a long way from dominant.
True freshman Tiny Gallon, who also collected 10 points, had nine rebounds in 23 minutes. Ryan Wright had eight in the same amount of time. Freshman Andrew Fitzgerald added five in 25 minutes.
The trio will be OU's post presence this season, but none came close to controlling the paint the way they need to.
"Our sense of urgency to rebound has to get better," Capel said.
The Sooners still have plenty of time to find it. The season opener is Nov. 14 and Tuesday night was their first time they've played against an opponent.
"This game tonight will give us an opportunity to have a great film session tomorrow and to look at some things that we did well and some things that we didn't," Capel said. "We looked about how I expected us to look with this being our first game with so many young guys."
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
