Indiana’s Zeller, Oladipo NBA bound?
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
WASHINGTON D.C. ” Let the speculation begin.
Will Victor Oladipo and/or Cody Zeller opt to leave Indiana with eligibility remaining and head to the NBA?
After IU lost to Syracuse Thursday night in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, both of the Hoosier stars were asked about their future intentions.
“I don’t know,” Zeller said. “I put everything into this. I haven’t though 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.”
“I’m the same way,” Oladipo added. “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 have been thinking about.”
IU coach Tom Crean will do what every coach in his situation does, try to educate his stars on their NBA Draft stock to the best of his ability.
As the Hoosier boss says, he’ll try to be “a voice of reason” and “give them as honest of an assessment as I possibly can.”
To get that honest assessment, Crean will rely on input from general managers and scouting directors.
“It won’t come from dot-coms,” Crean explained,-(it will come from) people that really have an investment in what those picks mean and when they would potentially go.
“We’ll try to give them the best advice they could possibly have, be supportive of them and their families through the entire process and treat ’em with love and care like we always have.”
If Zeller and/or Oladipo enter their name(s) in the draft, they would have until April 16 to withdraw and keep their college eligibility.
If you believe some of the NBA mock drafts, Oladipo and Zeller are more than ready to make the jump.
Bleacher Report has Zeller going to the Washington Wizards with the seventh overall pick and Oladipo heading to the Sacramento Kings one pick later.
CBSSports.com views Zeller and Oladipo in a similar fashion. It has Zeller being selected with the fifth overall pick in the opening round and Oladipo being taken in the No. 10 spot.
DraftExpress.com thinks Zeller’s stock is even higher, having the Washington, Ind. native headed to Cleveland with the third pick, while it forecasts Oladipo to be New Orleans bound with the No. 6 selection.
ESPN.com, on the other hand, believes Oladipo will be taken before Zeller. It has Oladipo, a junior, as the sixth pick in its mock draft and Zeller at the No. 8 slot.
Looking at those mock drafts, it’s hard to see how in the world Oladipo or Zeller would improve their stock by deciding another year of college ball is what’s best for them.
Barring something unforeseen both will be lottery picks. That means they’ll make somewhere in the neighborhood of between $2.5 million-$3.5 million in salary in the first year of their contracts.
As if the money wasn’t enough to lure them out, consider this: Oladipo will graduate this May in just three years with a GPA in the neighborhood of 3.3. There just simply is no reason for him to return.
By the time the June draft rolls around, Zeller will have completed two years of college where he is a very good student. The Academic All-American is a business major with a 3.44 GPA.
There has been wide speculation as to just how soon Zeller may earn his degree. Some believe he could graduate as soon as the end of the summer session, while others think he’ll need until January 2014 to complete his degree requirements.
Realistically, it would be very surprising if either Zeller or Oladipo ever play another game in an IU uniform again.
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