Oladipo’s coach speaks about 2010 guard’s recruitment

Mike Jones, the high school coach of the latest IU commitment, Victor Oladipo, took time to answer questions about the DeMatha Catholic High School standout. Here’s what he had to say:

What has Victor mentioned to you about his visit?

Going into it, basically he was just looking for confirmation. He felt very comfortable over there ... he confirmed everything he knew about the coaching staff and felt like he could impact the program and the campus and everything is just great.

How excited was he about his decision?

My words wouldn’t do it justice. He called me and texted me the entire time he was there about how perfect it seemed. He just couldn’t stop gushing about how this is what he wanted to do. I think the only thing that kind of held him back from doing it while he was there is the rule saying you’re not allowed to do that.

He said he didn’t want to leave. What are your thoughts on that?

I think that’s just a credit to the state of Indiana and the people there. He’s not the type of kid that will just go anywhere and just immerse himself in it. The fact that he was able to go there and feel at home is very much a kind of indication as to what type of people and what kind of campus Indiana is.

Will Victor be signing during the early signing period on Nov. 11?

Definitely. There will be a press conference here for him and the rest of his 2010 teammates. They’ll all sign their letters at the same time.

He mentioned he loves to guard the best man on the other team. How important is that for you and your team?

It’s definitely a thing that not many young men get excited about, but he does. We talk here at DeMatha about legacy and talk about leaving something better than you found. Victor is the type of kid who, just with that simple thing of taking so much pride in his defense, then it’s something that all the young kids that coming in the program now – that all look up to Victor and want to be like Victor – I can emphasize that with them.

What kind of impact has he made at DeMatha?

He’s leaving somewhat of a legacy here in that he’s one of the best players to play here, and we can point to him to all of our younger guys and say, ‘This is the way it’s supposed to go. This is a kid who didn’t come in with all the hoopla and everything but just worked his rear end off to be the best player and the best student and the best person he can be.’

He mentioned how personally he takes each loss and how he takes responsibility. How hard does he take losses and what does he do to rebound from them?

He’s a big-picture guy. He takes every loss very hard, but he also is one of the guys to get the guys refocused again.

He mentioned he is the only member of his family who has gotten an athletic scholarship. What does that mean to him? How does it affect him?

He’s a very spiritual kid. I think a lot of the things that he’s able to accomplish is because he’s so driven and so passionate about succeeding because he knows his family is behind him and they want what’s best for him. The fact that he can boast about being the first one in his family is more so an indication of how proud he is that he can go to Mom and Dad and say, ‘Hey, you don’t have to pay for me to go to college.’

He said his goal is to go undefeated this year. As a leader, has he pressed that on his teammates?

No, and I won’t let him. We’ve had that goal pretty much every year and it consumes us sometimes, so we won’t worry about that. We’ll just try to go 1-0 every time we play.

How important is it that Victor does things right?

He’s the leader. He has no choice because of his personality. So many of them look up to him and look to him for guidance and things like that. He knows that, and I think because he knows that he knows ... he has to be right all the time.

How big of an impact does he have on his teammates?

He’ll be one of the guys on this team to say ‘Hey, I’m going to support the soccer team tonight if anybody wants to roll with me,’ and, next thing you know, you’ve got a bunch of kids going to the soccer game.

What does he have to improve on the most?

He’s worked really hard on becoming a consistent outside shooter. Just continuing to work on that and to work on his ball-handling.

We’ve seen that his nickname is ‘360’ in several places. Was that from one of his teammates?

No. That’s just because he jumps so high. There are probably ... like five or six nicknames that people have tried to coin, and none of them have stuck. He’s Victor, and that’s all I’m going to call him.

What about his personality?

He’s a happy-go-lucky type of kid. He’s well liked by pretty much everybody.

Do you have anything else you would like to add about his commitment?

I really think that this is a perfect fit. We want all of our kids to get a scholarship or we want all of our kids to go on and be successful and be happy. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a position as I am right now, where I’ve felt so comfortable with the decision that he made. Not that he needs my approval, but I definitely support this and think it’s going to be great for both Victor and Indiana.