Experience at Indiana helping acclimate Oladipo to pros
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Victor Oladipo sang and hollered through the halls of Assembly Hall so loudly that his voice reached the office of his old coach upstairs.
Back at Indiana to serve as a counselor in Tom Crean’s youth camp this weekend, Oladipo wasted no time making his presence known.
“Coach Crean can hear me because I feel right at home,” Oladipo said. “It’s what I’m used to. It’s what I’m comfortable with. I’ll always be a Hoosier.”
Taken second overall by the Orlando Magic in the NBA’s June draft, Oladipo is still adjusting to his new professional life.
“It’s kind of been a whirlwind,” he said. “When you’re in it, you say, ‘Woah.’ The draft was an amazing day, truly a blessing. It was great knowing I was a No. 2 pick. It’s just a stepping stone. I accomplished a lot of things. There’s so much more I can do. I haven’t reached the pinnacle of how good I can be.”
Orlando and rookie coach Jacque Vaughn finished last season with the league’s worst record at 20-62. Oladipo can relate. His freshman year, the Hoosiers went 12-20, still reeling from NCAA sanctions leveled against the program during Kelvin Sampson’s reign.
“It was tough,” Oladipo said. “The rebuilding process has a lot of down moments. Being everybody’s doormat isn’t fun. They say it’s a rebuilding process in Orlando. If it is, I’m well-prepared for it, because I guarantee it’s nowhere near the rebuilding we had to do here. We were at the bottom of bottoms. It was ridiculous.”
Indiana went a combined 56-16 in Oladipo’s final two seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 twice and earning the Hoosiers’ first outright Big Ten title since 1993. He’s optimistic he can help engineer a similar turnaround with the Magic, who sport a core led by Jameer Nelson, Arron Afflalo and Glen Davis and complemented by promising prospects Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless.
“We have a lot of good players this year in Orlando, a decent amount of young, great players and vets,” Oladipo said. “I think we’re going to do better than people think we’re going to do. At the end of the day we’re just going to go out there and play for each other to try to get that program back to where it needs to be.”
Oladipo, a 6-foot-5 energizer, averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in four appearances with the Magic’s summer league team. He received most of his minutes at point guard after spending the majority of his college career at small forward.
“It was fun,” he said. “Going in there and playing a new position, for them to give the ball to me and to run the offense and run the team was quite a new experience. I liked it. I liked it a lot.”
Oladipo, 21, also enjoyed meeting Harris, 21, and Harkless, who’s 20, among other teammates.
“Meeting the young boys out there, this young core, they’re a cool group of guys,” Oladipo said. “They want to win. They want to work hard and be successful.”
Oladipo said he plans to clear his mind and just play to the best of his ability once the season starts, regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench.
“Coach Vaughn just wants me to go out there and play the game with confidence,” Oladipo said. “Whatever position – whether the 1, 2 or 3 – who knows. Wherever he wants me to play, I’ll play. I’ll give 110 percent. I’ll continue to keep working on my craft. I have so much to work on. I’m just going to keep working hard so I can achieve the goals that I have.”
Perhaps fittingly, Orlando opens the season on Oct. 29 against the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, located about an hour north of Oladipo’s old stomping grounds.
“I can only imagine how that’s going to be,” he said. “That’s going to be surreal. I’m just looking forward to everything.”
Meanwhile, former Hoosier and five-year NBA veteran D.J. White, who also stopped by to assist with Crean’s camp, said he remains in the waiting process of free agency.
“I’m talking to a couple teams,” White said. “I’ve got different offers back in China. I’m just weighing my options, taking my time. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I’ll decide what I’m going to do.”
White participated in 12 games last season with the Celtics and has averaged 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in his career. He was a second-team All-American as a senior with the Hoosiers.
