Overview: Oladipo is a 6-5, 214 pound sophomore from Upper Marlboro, Md. As a freshman, Oladipo averaged 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. The high-flying guard was one of four players on the IU roster to play in all 32 games in the 2010-11 season. He shot 54.2 percent from the field, good for second on the team trailing only Tom Pritchard's 59 percent. Before coming to IU, Oladipo was ranked No. 144 overall and No. 41 amongst shooting guards in the 2010 class.
Best case: Oladipo fills the shoes left by the injured Maurice Creek. Known mostly for his dunking-ability and buzzer beaters, Oladipo becomes more than just a role player in the IU offense. His work he put in this summer to develop an outside shot pays dividends and he is another threat beyond the arc. Oladipo improves defensively as not only a shot-blocker but as a guy who can turn turnovers into points in the transition game. He comes in off the bench but plays well over half the game on any given night.
Worst case: A sophomore slump. Oladipo regresses after surprising IU fans by producing quality minutes as a freshman. Instead of thriving in the absence of Creek, Oladipo struggles with the increased workload. His legs tire easily throughout games making him ineffective when penetrating to the basket. The jumpshot that he worked so hard to develop becomes forgotten due to a lack of confidence of shooting it in actual games. Oladipo still gets minutes off the bench, but his lack of success results in a lack of depth at the guard position, hurting the Hoosiers throughout Big Ten play.
Outlook: Oladipo appears to be ready to make that next step. A lot of college freshman can get caught up in producing highlight reel plays so it shows maturity on his end to want to develop his game more. Barring injury, it would be hard to see Oladipo crack the starting lineup with this team at full strength. However, IU Coach Tom Crean wasn't shy to throw Oladipo into the fire as a freshman, so expect him to get 22-25 minutes per game this year. If Oladipo can take that next step, then the Hoosiers will likely follow suit.
