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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Maybe life after Kevin Durant wont be so bad for the Thunder.After the longtime face of the franchise left for Golden State, crestfallen Oklahoma City fans were worried it was just a matter of time before the teams co-star, Russell Westbrook, would follow suit. In a move that shocked many, Westbrook re-signed with Oklahoma City. The former scoring champion and two-time All-Star MVPs return gives the team hope.New faces such as shooting guard Victor Oladipo and forward Domantas Sabonis, both acquired in the deal that sent Serge Ibaka to Orlando, might take some time to fit in. Westbrook believes the team is talented enough to succeed if it is focused and the new pieces blend with the old ones who helped the Thunder reach the Western Conference Finals last season.Just play hard, man, Westbrook said. I dont know, win or lose. The only thing I know is that as long as we play hard, we give ourselves an opportunity to win.Westbrook could post historic numbers. He averaged 23.5 points, 10.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds last season and had 18 triple-doubles, the most since Magic Johnson had 18 during the 1981-82 season. Without Durant, more of that could be on the way.Sabonis, a rookie out of Gonzaga who played for Lithuanias Olympic team, played with the starters throughout the preseason. Oladipo averaged 15.9 points and 4.0 assists in three years with Orlando. He joins Westbrook to form arguably the most athletic backcourt tandem in the NBA.Defensively, I think we can be the best defensive backcourt in the league because we can do different things with our size and using our length and our speed, Westbrook said.Here are some things to watch for the Thunder:STEVEN ADAMSThe 7-footer from New Zealand was already a top-notch defender and rebounder before stepping up his offense and averaging 10.1 points during the playoffs last season. In his final two preseason games, he scored 20 points against Minnesota and 17 points against Denver. He could be a breakout star.I think weve had an opportunity these last two nights (against Minnesota and Denver) how good he is around the basket, how smart he has become and how much of a presence he is in the middle, Westbrook said.ENES KANTERThe natural expectation was that Ibakas departure would prompt coach Billy Donovan to move Kanter, who finished third in balloting for the leagues sixth-man award last season, into the starting lineup. Instead, Donovan started Sabonis throughout the preseason. Perhaps Donovan knows best -- Sabonis showed he can hang with the starters, and Kanter averaged 17.8 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 61.7 percent in the preseason.DEFENSIVE DROPOFF?Oklahoma Citys defense could slip with Ibaka in Orlando. Sabonis has great potential, but hes young, and NBA defense takes some time to learn. Donovan said Sabonis has caught on quickly, but there still could be a dip early because Ibakas level of play is difficult to replace -- he was a three-time first-team All-NBA defender and a two-time blocks leader.FOREIGN EXCHANGEThe Thunder added several foreign players to the roster who will add depth -- Spains Alex Abrines, Frances Joffrey Lauvergne and Turkeys Ersan Ilyasova. Donovan said he likes the maturity foreign players add to a team. Abrines played for Spains national team that earned bronze medals at the Olympics. Lauvergne played for France in Rio.FORGOT ABOUT `DRE?Andre Roberson has shifted from the starting shooting guard to starting small forward. That means the Thunder still have Robersons dynamic athletic ability, defensive prowess and nose for the ball on the boards in the lineup. He was a liability on offense in the past, but he started becoming more of a factor on offense during the playoffs last season.I think he feels more comfortable and confident offensively, Donovan said. Hes put forth effort in that area. Its just him continuing to grow offensively and trying to put him in situations where he slashes to the basket and he can cut and he can get out in transition and he can take his open corner threes.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP Basketball Shoes From China . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Discount Basketball Shoes .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. http://www.clearancebasketballshoes.com/ . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. Cheap Basketball Shoes For Sale . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Basketball Shoes Outlet Online . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia has been known for its defense for years. So far the Mountaineers offense has been putting on quite a show.Esa Ahmad tied a career-high with 14 points, Nathan Adrian added 12 and the No. 19 Mountaineers cruised to a 100-41 victory over New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon. This is West Virginias first back-to-back games with over 100 points since the 1996-97 season.The Mountaineers (3-0) started off a little stale in the opening minutes, trailing the Wildcats (2-2) 4-1 after 1:52, but then went on a 22-2 run over the next 6:30 to take a commanding lead midway through the first half.Included in that 22-2 run was an impressive play by Jevon Carter with a little over 12 minutes to play in the first half. Just as the ball was about to go out of bounds, Carter somersaulted in the air with the ball and tossed it to Teyvon Myers who was there for the dunk.I was just playing hard, said Carter. I didnt know that he would be there. Were just taught to throw it back under the basket when were going out of bounds.West Virginia ended the game with another run in the second half outscoring New Hampshire 36-9 in the final ten minutes.Ahmad led six Mountaineers in double figures. Lamont West had 13 points, Adrian and Jevon Carter had 12 and both Teyvon Myers and Tarik Phillip had 11.I feel like I have been aggressive (in the first two games), said Ahmad. I definitely see myself taking more of a leadership role. Along with JC (Carter) Nate (Adrian), of course you look at those guys as leaders but I definitely look at the role too.West Virginia also continued its heavy press presence, scoring 47 points off of 34 New Hampshire turnovers.Yeah, (New Hampshire head coach) Billy (Herrion) is a really good coach and they are really good in half-court if you saw their Templle game, said Huggins.dddddddddddd They make adjustments, they make great reads on screens and we try not to let people run what they want to run and we were pretty successful at it today.Iba Camera had a double-double for New Hampshire with 10 points and 12 rebounds.The thing you really look at is how hard youre competing and we did not compete nearly as hard as you need to compete against a team that plays as hard as they do, said New Hampshire head coach Bill Herrion. Thats why the spread was what it was. Thats why we lost by what we lost by.BIG PICTURENew Hampshire: The Wildcats shot 30.4% from the field against West Virginia. This is their third straight game scoring below 36% from the field.West Virginia: The Mountaineers continue to dominate with their press, but their performance at the foul line is very inconsistent. WVU shot 55% after shooting 73.7% against Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 14POLL IMPLICATIONSWith West Virginias dominant performance over the last two games, and losses by both No. 13 Michigan State and No. 15 Purdue, look for the Mountaineers to gain a spot or two in the AP Top 25 on Monday.FRESHMEN PHENOMSLamont West led six West Virginia freshmen with 13 points. Four of these six freshmen saw more than 10 minutes on the court and accounted for 35 points and 17 rebounds.PRESS VIRGINIAWest Virginia forced 34 New Hampshire turnovers, the second-most opponent turnovers in WVU school history (36 against VMI on Nov. 26, 2014). The Mountaineers have scored 107 points off of 81 turnovers so far this season.UP NEXTNew Hampshire hosts Detroit on Wednesday.West Virginia takes on Illinois in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn on Thursday. ' ' '