'Sheeladipo' sparks IU in opener

Will Sheehey didn’t have to start or end IU’s season opener to make his presence felt. Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo started and finished his night with a bang.

The sophomore duo combined for 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting to lead the IU men’s basketball team to a 96-66 victory against Stony Brook to open the season on Friday night at Assembly Hall. 

“It was a huge lift,” said IU senior guard Verdell Jones. “Those guys are so athletic and they make plays when things are broken down. They’re so active on the offensive rebounds with their hands and they just make plays.”

Oladipo didn’t waste any time, scoring on a layup within four seconds of the opening tip. The opening bucket set the tempo for a career night.

“He scored a lot of different ways,” Crean said. “He was a great facilitator. He did not look for shots that weren’t there. He took what was there and he attacked the rim.”

After the quick score, Oladipo’s counterpart, senior guard Bryan Dougher, fired back with a 3-pointer on Stony Brook’s opening possession.

But Dougher, who came in as Stony Brook’s all-time leading 3-point shooter, would not score another basket with Oladipo guarding him. Crean said Oladipo’s shutdown of Dougher showed how much he has improved defensively.

“I think tonight he took a big step in that direction because he drew the assignment of their best player,” Crean said. “He drew the assignment of their go-to shooter/scorer, the guy that when you look back last year, when he plays well, they play well. He wanted that challenge and I thought he did a good job and I thought it got his offense going.”

Though Oladipo’s 16 points tied a career high and he shut down Stony Brook’s top returning scorer, Crean said there were times that he looked gassed.

“A couple times (Oladipo) got tired and he stood up but when you’re playing hard, that’s going to happen some,” Crean said. “When you can go to the bench and hopefully not have a big drop-off that helps.”

The man who came in for Oladipo was Sheehey, who also wasted little time getting involved. Within 30 seconds, Sheehey already knocked home a 3-pointer. Though it was the only 3-pointer Sheehey made, he found a variety of ways to score.

By the time Sheehey’s half was over, the stat sheet was filled. In just ten minutes of action, Sheehey scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and brought down five rebounds.
However, that would be the end of Sheehey’s night. The sophomore battled flu-like symptoms and didn’t play in the second half.

“If he wasn’t feeling well in the first half, hopefully he’ll stay sick like that more often,” Crean said. “I thought he did a really good job coming in, bringing energy and reading the game.”

The 29 points for “Sheeladipo” was the largest single-game scoring output by the duo. Though Oladipo started and Sheehey came in off the bench tonight, Crean said that won’t always be the case.

“We didn’t start Will tonight even though he is a starter in my mind because we needed to be a little bigger,” Crean said. “At the same time, we wanted Will to come in and put that kind of pressure on (Dougher).”

The duo and the rest of the Hoosiers won’t have much time to enjoy their season-opening win. The Hoosiers will take on Chattanooga this Sunday at 5 p.m. at Assembly Hall. But for now, IU is off to a 1-0 start and for a team that finished under .500 in each of the last three seasons---they’ll take it.