http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Victor-Oladipo-6514/ SG is one of the toughest positions to fill. Given his current stock(late first round according to draftexpress mock draft), I think Victor Oladipo maybe a realistic perfect backup for Harden in the future. It should be relatively easy for Morey to get a late first rounder through trade. Third year SG from Indiana at 20 years old and 6'5", Victor Oladipo has been impressive so far. He's athletic with good slashing/finishing ability, and has significantly improved his 3pt shooting this season(over 50% for now, but may revert back somewhat later). He's one of the top rebounder at SG position in the nation, and showed great potential at defensive end as well(along with solid block/steal rate).
He's a junior. Defensive potential? The guy gets in your face like nobodies business. There is much room for improvement with Vic's game but, he works as hard as anyone to improve. High upside, especially if he keeps improving his jumper. The things I like most other than the obvious talents are, total team guy and he has that fire in his belly that makes him want to cut your heart out. All this said, it doesn't mean I think he will for sure excel in the NBA but, I would definitely take the chance and draft him if available at the right spot.
Nice input. He's #28 on draftexpress mock draft board right now. It'd be great if we could get him this late. I think he's got good upside as well.
Good point. He looks like he has pretty good defensive potential. [youtube]Si160YiPZPQ[/youtube] I think you guys are on the right track. Rockets always go best available so if there is a three, four or five that is head and shoulders better than the other candidates, I would assume they'll go that route.... but on need, I have to think drafting a guard, especially with defensive potential, would be high up there. Douglas will be gone... drafting a higher upside guard who can give the team something different than Douglas or Lin makes some sense.
Yeah, I've never actually seen this guy play, but he looks like a stud in that clip. Reminds me a bit of Avery Bradley. I guess he still needs to work on his shot some, though: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Victor-Oladipo-6514/ Might be more of a Tony Allen-type, I guess.
That description on draftexpress.com is for his performance last season. Saying he's significantly improved the shooting percentage is an understatement, as evidenced by his 2pt percentage going from 52% to 69%, 3pt percentage going from 21% to 55% so far this season.
If anyone is interested watching Vic tomorrow, Indiana plays Michigan State at noon on CBS. If he is on his game this is what I think you'll see, incredible on the ball defense, crazy athleticism and someone who will attack relentlessly. Oladipo is capable of taking over the game on both sides of the ball, will never shy away from big moments.
I apologize. You are right, 3rd season. I got mixed up cause I was only counting when he started. I love how he plays defense, he has high potential IMO. He will be D Wade 2.0
His game is VERY similar to Wade's. I try to temper my excitement for Vic's potential on the next level due to being such a huge IU fan but, it's tough. VO not only wants to be the best, he has the tools and the drive to be the best.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks this way. I am not an Indiana fan. I am a UH and A&M fan. This guy plays defense, and easily converts it on the offensive end of the floor. He is always at right spot at the right moment. High energy and the best rebounder for a guard in the nation. They don't run plays for him and he finds ways to get in the action. He has the ability to change the dynamics of the game at any given moment. His mind set is that of a superstars in the makings. Like you said, "He wants to be the best, he has the tools and the drive to be the best." You can just see it by the way that he plays. One thing he needs to improve his his ball handling in the sense of Dwade type ball handling from what I see. If he does that he will be way better than he is already. I also haven't seen much of his passing ability in traffic, I haven't seen much of that? Does he have great passing ability or good? Also, he seems like a cool guy.. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jWsVhAkbzss" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Thanks for the heads up and just watched the game. Oladipo is beasting on both ends, especially defensively. He's the player of the game with 21pts, 7 rebs, 6 steals and a couple of blocks. One commentator(a former NBA Player, can't recall his name) called him 'the most important player on the team' inspite of Cody Zeller's presence, and considers him as 'heart and soul of the team'. Another commentator mentions the possibility of him winning national defensive player award. They don't design the offense around him yet, otherwise he's capable of being the focal point of the offense along with Zeller.
Here is the highlights from the game today. You can see his defensive plays he makes and also the one offensive play where he went between two players for an easy deuce. http://www.ncaa.com/video#!basketball-men/2013-01-27/mbk-hoosiers-fend-spartans-thriller
Tom Crean on VO after the game today. On Victor Oladipo’s development since he got on campus: “Well he came with the athleticism; he came with the work ethic. I think the fact that he started more games here in two years here than he did in high school says a lot about him, but I think also the fact that he has a higher GPA than he even did and he was over a 3.0 in high school says a lot about him. I think he’s a great example of the old boring statement of daily improvement. I have not seen him not have a day where he was not doing something extra in the day whether it’s after practice, whether it’s in the summer time or the springtime and being in the gym extra. I think the film thing is something that’s really, really helped him where he’ll watch that extra film. He’ll have edits made for him where he can watch the different match-ups. I think the biggest difference is he was always a very charismatic personality driven young man, didn’t really want to hurt anybody feelings. He’s not real worried about that any more as a leader. He’s grown and I say that with dead seriousness. You can’t be a leader without being demanding and hurting some people’s feelings once and being able to call them out and he’s getting there. I think his road to leadership, he’s got a great voice with this team. I think if you look at his numbers, and we did this the other day, if you look at his numbers six games into the Big Ten last year into six games this year, it was astronomical and I’m sure we will see the same thing when we looks at the stats from last year to this year after seven games. He just keeps getting better.”
http://teammash.com/l/176759/http:/...-ray-lewis-of-basketball/?utm_source=teammash Opposing coaches often talk about centering their game plans on players other than Cody Zeller because they assume he’s going to get his. It might not be long before Victor Oladipo starts getting that treatment for the Hoosiers. Like he does in nearly every big game in front of a national audience, Oladipo put his imprint on Sunday afternoon’s 75-70 win over Michigan State from the very outset. On the game’s first play, the Indiana junior stripped Branden Dawson and finished with a slam on the other end. “That explosiveness they showed in the first five minutes was phenomenal,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “Oladipo, you’ve got to love the guy. … He just plays so hard. He’s the Ray Lewis of basketball.” Oladipo’s line: 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, seven rebounds, six steals and three blocked shots in 30 minutes. He also had 15 deflections in the first half and 22 for the afternoon. When the Hoosiers made numerous uncharacteristic mistakes in the first half, Oladipo was the one who kept them in the game. “We watch a lot of film as a team, but he always watches that much more,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said of Oladipo. “He’s getting a knowledge base to go with those instincts and his athleticism. The more he does that, the better he’s gonna be. Your instincts can’t get better without that knowledge.” Every game, you start to think you’ve seen just about everything from Oladipo. And we probably have. But when he puts it all together in a single performance, it’s hard to imagine coaches not centering their game plans around this guy going forward. He can shoot, drive, hit pull-ups, defend, rebound, pass, and — perhaps most importantly — lead.
Ray Lewis of basketball? That sounds familiar. [youtube]_LIFVX-Lgz0[/youtube] Seriously though... there are a lot of players that have the athleticism and/or body to be very good basketball players, but the work ethic and drive to be great is not as common. Will be interesting to see how this guy continues to develop.
