Warren tells Capel he'll return to Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) " Big 12 freshman of the year Willie Warren has no interest in leaving Oklahoma for the NBA.

Warren and his mother met with coach Jeff Capel for about 40 minutes Saturday, and the 6-foot-4 guard confirmed that he plans to remain with the Sooners for another season.

"I've been telling people the whole year that I was coming back," Warren said. "I had no intentions of leaving in the beginning, but my name started getting thrown around in the (NBA) lottery draw.

"My mom wanted to take the process slow and didn't want to make any quick decisions that we'd regret. I feel like I made the right decision by staying here at OU. My goal is to go to the NBA, but I just don't feel my game has matured enough."

Warren said his conversation with Capel was more about setting expectations for next season because he already had decided not to enter this year's NBA draft. Among those lofty goals was being named Big 12 player of the year a first-team All-American and possibly even national player of the year.

His teammate, Blake Griffin, was the AP player of the year last season before declaring he would leave the Sooners after his sophomore season.

"(Capel) told me I will have the same opportunity as Blake did, it's just up to me what I do with it," Warren said. "I have to be willing to take up the challenge."

Warren averaged 14.6 points and set an Oklahoma freshman record with 67 3-pointers last season as the Sooners got within one win of the Final Four.

Capel said he wanted to make sure Warren was making his decision for the right reason.

"I owe that to my players " to give them enough information where they can make informed decisions, because this is about their future," Capel said. "For some of these guys it's a chance to maybe make a lot of money and take care of their family."

While Griffin and two other starters will be gone, Oklahoma will reload with its first ever recruiting class with two McDonald's All-Americans.