Oladipo says God led him to IU
By
Sean Morrison |
IDS
POSTED AT
12:43 AM ON Sep. 8, 2009
| PRINT |
Email
| SHARE
| COMMENTS (6)
Courtesy photo
Victor Oladipo, IU recruit
Victor Oladipo was praying for a sign before he came to IU for his official visit Thursday.
Luckily for IU men’s basketball coach Tom Crean and his staff, he got several.
“After we finished playing with the guys, we went out to dinner,” Oladipo said of the moment he knew IU was the place for him.
“Coach Crean was just breaking down my game and going over my weaknesses and my strengths and how I can fit in.
Definitely another thing was waking up the next day and seeing my face in the paper. That set it off, too. I felt like that was the place for me.”
Oladipo, the No. 133 recruit in the nation according to Rivals.com, committed Monday to playing college basketball at IU. His commitment came after a night of prayer and time with his family.
“God had pointed me toward Indiana,” he said. “He was giving me signs. I felt like that was where He wants me to go.”
Oladipo said another factor in his decision was his friendship with freshman Maurice Creek.
“There was definitely chemistry with me and Maurice because of us growing up together,” Oladipo said. “He knows a lot of things I can do, and I know a lot of things he can do.
“He’s like my big brother. I grew up watching him because he was always a grade older than me. He just showed me the ropes.”
That chemistry also extended to the court with other players during scrimmages this weekend.
“After the first couple games, I started learning how people play and seeing what people could do,” Oladipo said. “The second day, when we started playing, there was a lot of chemistry there.”
Oladipo said he will make an impact on campus not just as a player, but as a man. His community efforts can attest to that, as he went to a soup kitchen near his high school, DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., to get some of his required service hours.
“It was a great experience,” Oladipo said. “I had never done it before. It makes you appreciate what you have.”
Oladipo said he cannot wait to see what will happen a year from now when he is on campus as a freshman.
“I really didn’t ever want to leave,” he said. “I just want to go back down there, and I can’t wait to be down there.”