Don’t look now but the Indiana Hoosiers are well on there way back to basketball relevance under the tutelage of 2nd year head coach Tom Crean. He has been making his mark on the recruiting front after the roster was gutted over the Kelvin Sampson recruiting violation fiasco a few seasons ago. Recently he beat out a number of other top tier schools for the services of elite level big man Cody Zeller (#20 in 2011) and has already locked up 2 players ranked in the Top 20 for 2012.
The Hoosiers are off to their first 6-0 start since the ‘02-’03 season. Much of their success is due to the extreme talents of 2nd year players Christian Watford (17.6 ppg, 7 rebs, 3 ast) and Maurice Creek (10.8 ppg) as well as junior Verdell Jones III (12.2 ppg and .471% 3 PT). But the true difference maker for the program going forward has been the production Crean is getting out of freshman Victor Oladipo.
Although the 6‘5, high flying guard has played in only 15 minutes per contest, he has definitely made his mark on the program with his through the roof athleticism and highlight reel plays. The Hoosier nation had to be excited when they got to catch a first glimpse of the fabulous freshman at Midnight Madness when he amazingly dunked over 8 people.
Stats alone don’t tell the whole story as Oladipo is only giving the Hoosiers 5.6 points and 3 rebounds per contest, while shooting 50% from the field and ranks 2nd on the club in steals(1.2). Victor has a bit of flair to his game and could be a potential NCAA star in the making.
During a recent game between Indiana and North Carolina Central, Oladipo had the pleasure of playing in front of legendary announcer Gus Johnson, who was calling the game for the Big Ten Network. For those of you unfamiliar with Johnson’s work(what?), he’s made some of the most memorable calls in NCAA hoops history, usually screaming out in his nasal tone and crackling voice “Ha-Haaaaa!”.
Oladipo and Johnson came together showing off their talents at the end of the game’s first half when with only seconds remaining, Oladipo weaved through some of his own teammates to heave and sink a 60 foot buzzer-beater as Gus Johnson gave those of us listening some of his trademark enthusiasm on the call. Ha-Haaaaa!
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
