Some may say their fates have been sealed for quite some time, but junior guard Victor Oladipo and sophomore forward Cody Zeller would give no insight into the extent of their futures with the IU men's basketball team after Thursday night's 61-50 loss to Syracuse in the Sweet 16 in Washington D.C.
Both players managed double-figure games - Oladipo leading the Hoosiers with 16 points and Zeller adding 10 - but neither could get the IU offense in a rhythm that could fight back against the Syracuse 2-3 zone.
Zeller, touted as the nation's preseason Player of the Year, shot just 3-of-11 Thursday, struggling at times to get a shot more than a couple feet in the air before it was blocked by a Syracuse defender.
Oladipo had his own struggles, giving up three turnovers. Many times this season, the junior was IU's catalyst and source of energy, but even with 16 points, he could never get his teammates into much of a flow.
Now, the speculation begins as to if Thursday night's loss will be both of their final collegiate basketball games.
Neither gave much insight during the press conference immediately following the loss as they both sat teary-eyed next to IU Coach Tom Crean and fellow teammate senior forward Christian Watford, who had certainly played his last game in an IU uniform.
Zeller on his thoughts about a possible third season as an IU basketball player:
"I don't know. I put everything into this. I haven't thought about it one bit. I was just worried about playing this year. So much fun playing with these guys. We had a great year, haven't thought about it at all."
Oladipo on the prospect he would come back for a senior season at IU:
"I've been focused on Indiana Hoosier basketball and I loved playing with these guys, and I've enjoyed the ride. I'm never going to forget this team, the players on this team, this coaching staff, anything. That's all I really been thinking about."
Due to graduation, the Hoosiers will certainly lose at least 40 percent of this season's starting lineup in Watford and senior guard Jordan Hulls. Watford averaged 12.3 points per game this season - third on the team behind Zeller and Oladipo - and Hulls sat in fourth with 9.7.
Zeller led the team with a 16.5 points per game average, and Oladipo followed with 13.6.
With potentially losing the team's top four scorers and 80 percent of IU's starting lineup, along with arguably one of the team's strongest leaders in senior forward Derek Elston, there's no question the Hoosiers will look vastly different come next season.
As Oladipo's improvement jumped off the charts and some of his teammates followed, IU appeared to be a different squad than the one that lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 last year in the NCAA Tournament.
Yet, this season ended just the same. Only time will tell what next season may bring.
