Game Notes: Victor Oladipo

Victor Oladipo is a 6-4 recruit out of Maryland for IU's 2010 class.  He is known as a tremendous athlete who is known for his dunking abilities (search "Victor Oladipo" on youtube for evidence).  On Tuesday night, ESPNU televised one of Victor's high school games.  The game was #4 Dematha (MD) against #13 Mater Dei (CA).  Those are somewhat different names for high schools.....at least compared to my perspective of growing up with the very creative Northwestern, Western, Eastern, and Taylor.  It's also interesting to have a match up of two teams from opposite coasts.  We certainly weren't ranked at Northwestern, but we didn't even play schools from the Indianapolis area, which is less than an hour from Kokomo.  Even thinking back to the ranked teams in the early 90's, they might and I mean might play a school from the Chicago area and that would have been a big deal.  Oh, the times they are a changin'.

Many of you may have already watched the game or read about it elsewhere.  Me, well, I recorded it and I just got around to watching it tonight because I have had more important things to do like watch the Hoosiers win their second straight conference game!  While that sounds incredibly pathetic to be excited about, I am extremely fired up about these two wins and the strides that the program is taking.  Look for my "Return to Glory" book to be released in 2013 as the release date is scheduled to be immediately following the Hoosiers 6th national title.

Just to set the stage.....I am listening to Pandora radio right now (Pete Yorn on at the moment), watching this game, obviously typing up these game notes, and enjoying Three Floyds Alpha King Ale.  I strongly endorse all of these things:

• Pandora radio -- if you haven't tried it, go to pandora.com and give it a try.
• Pete Yorn - good stuff.  In fact, you could type his name into Pandora and see what happens.  Or, if you prefer, you could go to itunes and I would suggest starting with Strange Condition.  Life on a Chain, Burrito, Bandstand in the Sky, and the one my oldest bro just recommended to me (I can't remember the name so the rest of you are shit out of luck unless you take my recommendation and start listening.  If you do, you'll eventually run into it.  And you'll like it.)
• Three Floyds Alpha King Ale -- my top 10 favorite beers have historically been like my top 10 favorite songs -- the rankings move around all over the place but you typically see some very familiar faces.  Well, the Three Floyds Alpha King Ale has been holding the top spot for several months now.  It should be noted that I went to Colorado over the holidays and sampled several excellent beers.  This included the Great Divide brewery tour and a visit to the Falling Rock - a bar that had so many (and by so many, I literally mean approximately 100 beers on tap and all good stuff) beers on tap that it made you long for more hours in a day.....and a higher tolerance.  Anywho, even after sampling many of this country's finest brews, I still go back to the 3F AKA.  Sure, there's a part of me that gives them the edge because it's an Indiana brewery, but their beers truly do stand up to any in the nation.  I will be paying that brewery a visit in the near future, let me know if you're interested in joining me (not far from Chicago).

Game Notes:

• VO feeds the post perfectly so that his teammate could spin for a dunk.  VO - 1 assist (7:03 left in Q1).
• VO gets an offensive rebound on an airball, but gets his shot blocked on his put-back attempt.  VO - 1 assist, 1 rebound, 0-1 FG (6:12 left in Q1).
• Loose ball or defensive rebound (I'll count it as a rebound) tracked down by VO.  2 rebounds, 1 assist, 0-1 FG (5:45 left in Q1).
• Announcer keeps calling him OlaPido, but his name is spelled OlaDipo, so I have to assume that this announcer is simply a moron.
• VO with a steal.  After the steal, he dribbled the length of the floor -- looked capable of dribbling but did not appear 100% comfortable and he gave it up as soon as he had the chance.  The ball came back to him and he shot a 3-pointer.  Missed off the back rim.  Form looked OK as he squared up nicely and had nice form as he went up for the shot, but the release was kind of forced or pushed.  And immediately back on the defensive end, VO made a weak close-out on a potential shooter who shot-faked and went right around him for a layup.  So, all in all, an interesting sequence to see a lot of different aspects of VO's game.  2 rebs, 1 asst, 0-2 FG (0-1 3PT), 5:25 left in Q1.
• Initial impression -- a great athlete.  Lots of bounce and gets up and down the floor quickly.  If you can picture how Christian Watford currently kind of slowly gathers himself and takes a little hop before jogging down the floor.....Victor Oladipo is the other end of the spectrum where he seems to bounce off the floor, burst into motion, and quickly get up and down the floor.  Not knocking Watford here, just trying to paint a picture.  Other impression is raw -- not a very good dribbler or shooter.  Overall initial impression is that I think this kid could really add some things to the IU program, especially after 1-2 years under Tom Crean.  We'll need him to contribute immediately, but he could blossom into a star as an upper-classman.....and as part of a great team.
• Lost my remote.
• Found it.
• Game on.
• Announcer now has his name right.  That's why you're doing high school games, Biff.
• VO has a good frame.  Should be B10 ready with some college-level weight training.
• VO definitely unselfish....doesn't try to do things he can't and looks to be a good team player.
• VO with a steal, then they looked to get an alley-oop to him and he was fouled.  Hits both FTs.  2 pts, 2 rebs, 1 asst, 2 stls, 0-2 FGs (0-1 3PT), 2-2 FTs, 2:10 left in Q1.
• VO steal.  2 pts, 2 rebs, 1 asst, 3 stls, 0-2 FGs (0-1 3PT), 2-2 FTs, 1:25 left in Q1.
• VO with a nice def rebound, but started to fall down and tried to make a pass that went straight to a Mater Dei player for an easy layup.  2 pts, 3 rebs, 1 asst, 3 stls, 1 TO, 0-2 FGs (0-1 3PT), 2-2 FTs, 1:05 left in Q1.
• VO sits rest of 1st Qtr.
• VO back in game with 7:00 to go in Q2.
• Minor thing, but a 3 was put up from right wing, VO had the block out on the right block.  In theory, the block-out form was good, but he did not try to push his guy back.  He just sealed right at the block.  Because it was a 3, it turned out to be a long rebound that he allowed his man to get.  When those long shots go up, it is even more important to move your guy out so that you have inside position for those long rebounds.  Easier said than done, but when done with the proper technique, it is one of the more physical and contact moves that is allowed in basketball.  Assholes and elbows -- that's how my best coach ever taught us to do it.  Assholes and elbows, fellas.  And then we ran suicides. Lots of them.  And I loved it.  I'm not sure why.
• VO offensive rebound.  Fouled on put-back attempt.  Makes both.  4 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst, 3 stls, 1 TO, 0-2 FGs (0-1 3PT), 4-4 FTs, 4:05 left in Q2.
• VO steal and fouled.  Going to the line for a one-and-one.  Misses badly on the first.  4 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst, 4 stls, 1 TO, 0-2 FGs (0-1 3PT), 4-5 FTs, 4:00 left in Q2.
• VO had ball stripped in the lane.  Honestly, it was more the result of a bad pass that put VO in a tough spot.  VO did a great job getting back on defense and stopped Mater Dei's fast break by taking a charge.
• VO with a 3-point attempt, in and out.
• VO with a great blocked shot.  4 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst, 4 stls, , 1 blk, 1 TO, 0-3 FGs (0-2 3PT), 4-5 FTs, 2:00 left in Q2.
• Interesting play -- VO and teammate trap a Mater Dei player in the half-court near mid-court with the shot clock winding down.  As the shot-clock is expiring, VO eventually controls the steal.  At the point he controls the ball, he hears the shot-clock buzzer and reacts by shooting a beyond half-court shot that goes in, but does not count because the officials ruled a shot-clock violation on Mater Dei.  Crazy play to say the least.  Great to see VO drain the thing from beyond half-court, but also wondering what the hell he was thinking to shoot based on the opponents shot-clock buzzer.  Had the officials ruled that the steal happened before the shot-clock violation, then that would have been a legitimate shot.  Granted, in this case, it would have been one helluva 3-pointer, but still a head-scratcher.  Anyway, it ended up as a shot-clock violation, so no steal and certainly no beyond half-court 3-pointer for VO.  Although, we will put that one in the memory bank for when VO does that in a Hoosier uniform.
• Just watched the replay a few times.  Even though it may not have been the most heady play, VO should have been credited with a steal and a crazy 3-pointer.
• Halftime - VO's team down 36-31.
• First possession of second half, TO by VO.  He went baseline and got cutoff with nowhere to go.  4 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst, 4 stls, 1 blk, 2 TO, 0-3 FGs (0-2 3PT), 4-5 FTs, 7:50 left in Q3.
• VO steal and hard drive to the basket, went up for the dunk and missed.   Couldn't really tell if he was fouled, or if the defender knocked it loose on the way up, of if he just plain missed it.  Regardless, I liked the way he went aggressively to the hoop and tried to throw it down.  I wouldn't change a thing about how he attacked after that steal.  4 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, , 1 blk, 2 TO, 0-4 FGs (0-2 3PT), 4-5 FTs, 7:50 left in Q3.
• By the way, the bottom line just scrolled the Top 25 and Pitt is #11 with a 15-2 record.  Hmmm.....seems like one of those 2 losses came against IU.  This is a Pitt team that has beaten #5 Syracuse.  I might be wrong, but I believe Pitt lost this week since this HS game aired on ESPNU on Tues night, so they will probably drop, but that win over Pitt is looking like a very high quality win and we beat them convincingly.
• Over the past few minutes, VO had 2 defensive rebounds, had his shot blocked, badly missed a 2-pointer, and played poor close-out defense on a 2-point shooter.  4 pts, 6 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, , 1 blk, 2 TO, 0-6 FGs (0-3 3PT), 4-5 FTs, 2:00 left in Q3.
• VO def rebound. 
• DUNK!  VO takes the feed on the break and throws it down with two hands.  6 pts, 7 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, , 1 blk, 2 TO, 1-7 FGs (0-3 3PT), 4-5 FTs, 6:30 left in Q4.
• Announcer says Oladipo now has 8 points, so either he is a moron or I missed  a basket -- both are very possible.
• VO def rebound.  I honesly thought I was keeping accurate stats as this game went along, but I have VO now with 6 pts and 8 rebs.  However, the announcer says 8 pts and 13 rebs.  I feel like I could have missed a basket for the point differential but I don't think I missed 5 rebounds.
• VO 1-2 from the line.  So, adopting the ESPNU stats....9 pts, 13 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, , 1 blk, 2 TO, 2-8 FGs (0-3 3PT), 5-7 FTs, 3:30 left in Q4.
• DUNK!  VO with an awesome follow slam!  He went over everyone to slam that one back in!  11 pts, 14 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, 1 blk, 2 TO, 3-9 FGs (0-3 3PT), 5-7 FTs, 2:45 left in Q4.and
• VO misses layup and then commits 4th foul.
• DUNK!  VO slips down the middle of the defense, takes pass, and another 2-handed jam!  3rd dunk of the quarter.  13 pts, 14 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, , 1 blk, 2 TO, 4-10 FGs (0-3 3PT), 5-7 FTs, 1:45 left in Q4.
• Off rebound and bucket.  15 pts, 15 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls, 1 blk, 2 TO, 5-11 FGs (0-3 3PT), 5-7 FTs, 9 seconds left in Q4. And that would be his unofficial final stat line in a loss.

Overall Thoughts:
Oladipo certainly has all of the tools to be a great defensive player.  So, if he takes well to Crean's coaching, then I think he could see some minutes next year off the bench to play defense, rebound, and get the Hall rockin' with some big-time dunks.  The form on his shot looks pretty good until the actual release.  It doesn't look like he is too far away to making some improvements to his shooting, but I really don't expect him to be shooting too many jumpers next year.  He will definitely be more of a slasher that tries to find open space for some dunks and close range shots. 

He does have the size and athleticism that he could become a great player as an upper-classmen if he does improve his outside shot.  Even if his shot never develops, he will definitely be able to make significant contributions to the program.  I'm excited to have him coming to Bloomington.