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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's basketball

Oladipo propels IU to victory

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Junior guard Victor Oladipo has had a coming-out season of sorts, making his way into the national media spotlight. Yet even two weeks ago, Oladipo’s name was absent from the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list.

From start to finish, on either end of the floor, while throwing down dunks and pick-pocketing the Michigan State Spartans to a season-high 21 points and career-highs of six steals and three blocks in a 75-70 IU victory, the Upper Marlboro, Md., native made his case as one of the best players in the country as of late.

Oladipo’s teammates have recognized his progression throughout the season, and IU Coach Tom Crean said after Sunday’s victory that his numbers, compared to this time during last season’s conference play, are night and day.

Senior forward Christian Watford said Oladipo has always had the same energy and drive since he was a freshman, but now the Hoosiers are sensing the way he impacts the game at both ends of the floor.

“That’s just Victor now,” Watford said. “It’s definitely a part of our offense now. We feel like we’re a great team when Victor does do this. He brings a lot of energy. Not only that, he gets us open by the way he attacks the basket.He did a great job tonight.”

Oladipo said he’s also recognized improvement in his game, adding that coming in as a freshman, he had all the desire, but lacked the tools to affect his team like he wished he could.

Now, he said, he has to bring it every game.

“My freshman year it was kind of like I wanted to, but I wasn’t capable,” Oladipo said. “I started growing my sophomore year, and now junior year, I have to bring it every night on both ends of the floor so my team can win, and I have to keep doing that every night.”

Just nine seconds into Sunday’s game against the No. 13 Spartans, the IU faithful could tell Oladipo had, indeed, “brought it.” Oladipo intercepted a pass from Branden Dawson, taking it the length of the court and finishing with his signature one-handed slam.

But his precision in reading his opponents’ eyes created more than just breakaway dunks for his own highlight reel. After intercepting a Keith Appling pass midway through the first half, Oladipo almost instantaneously dished the ball off to open freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell.

Ferrell wove through the Spartan defense for a layup to cap a 15-6 IU run that put the Hoosiers ahead 28-19, the largest IU lead of the afternoon.

In all, Oladipo’s six steals created 10 points for IU’s offense, which was able to function at a much quicker pace than in previous conference games.

Crean said Oladipo’s performance in practice on Friday while preparing to face Michigan State was possibly the best he’s seen from his junior guard since Oladipo stepped on campus more than two years ago.

But Oladipo’s performance against Michigan State was not the product of just one solid practice, Crean said. He noted Oladipo’s instinct to be in the right place at the right time has come from the extra time Oladipo puts in every day.

“From the start of this game, he had a knowledge base that he put into his game on how he was going to defend them,” Crean said. “He’s getting a knowledge base to go with those instincts and his talent and his athleticism, and the more he does that, the better he’s going to be.

“Guys like that learn that your instincts like that can’t get better without that knowledge. They can get to a point, but the more you add that knowledge ... that’s part of the game, and that’s part of taking the next step.”

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