Sports Illustrated: Victor Oladipo’s rise from overlooked recruit to Indiana superstar
Hoosiers screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, 65, was born in Bloomington and returned in 2005 after three decades in Southern California. His passion for Indiana basketball runs so deep that he skipped the 1987 Academy Awards (at which Hoosiers had been nominated for two Oscars) to watch Indiana win the NCAA title over Syracuse. Now he visits practice occasionally and feels the pulse of the fan base. “We’ve had great players here,” says Pizzo, “but I can’t remember such a great athlete who also never takes a play off and whose charisma is so electric that it affects all the other players and the fans. Victor wants to win, and he will sacrifice individual glory for the team, and that quality is so much appreciated in Indiana.”
Oladipo’s is a story of talent discovered late, nurtured and grown. And of a coach who once found true greatness (Crean recruited Dwyane Wade to Marquette 14 years ago) and has never stopped looking for it again. “It was Coach Crean who gave me my opportunity,” says Oladipo. “He gave me the chance to get better.”
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