Sheehey, Oladipo provide spark in IU victory

IU coach Tom Crean has emphasized many times that no spot in the rotation is guaranteed.

You have to earn your way onto the court.

In IU’s 71-54 win against Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday at Assembly Hall, Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey did just that.

The freshmen combined for 18 points — nine each — while providing major sparks for the Hoosiers (3-0) off the bench.

“Coming off the bench, we’ll do whatever it takes for our team to win,” Oladipo said. “Coach (Crean) puts us in there because he believes we can help this team. I think Will and I are capable of doing that.”

In the first two games this season, Sheehey played a total of 10 minutes. In those games, he made a few plays, scoring six points.

Sheehey, though, was on the court for 11 minutes against MVSU on Tuesday. He finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and hauled in five rebounds.

“I was just feeling more comfortable,” Sheehey said. “With every game, every practice, Coach has just helped me get a better feel for the game.”

Sheehey showed early on why he was recruited out of Sagemont High School in Florida.

He attacked the rim at will and did not seem bothered fighting for rebounds down low against MVSU players clearly bigger than him.

He really made his mark toward the end of the game.

With less than a minute left, Sheehey intercepted a pass at midcourt and raced down for a two-handed dunk that brought the Assembly Hall crowd to its feet.

Sheehey put the finishing touches on his breakout performance with five seconds remaining in the game.

Junior guard Daniel Moore threw an alley-oop pass that Sheehey laid in while being fouled.

“I wasn’t sure that Dan was going to throw a lob, so I kind of timed it wrong,” Sheehey said. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in, but it did.”

Crean said he was proud of the effort Sheehey gave Tuesday against the Delta Devils.
“I’m really happy that Will Sheehey was able to come in and get confidence inside of the game because he was ready for that,” Crean said. “He needed that type of breakout game.”

But Sheehey wasn’t the only freshman to have a major contribution in IU’s victory.
Guard Victor Oladipo continued his strong start to the season by adding nine points of his own on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.

He was so efficient, in fact, that in the minutes Oladipo was on the court, IU had a 30-point advantage on MVSU.

“I was just playing defense,” Oladipo said. “I know the offense is going to come to me. I just got to be consistent and do whatever it takes to help my team. I think I did that tonight.”