Oladipo named Naismith finalist

Junior guard Victor Oladipo is one of four finalists for the 2013 Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Company announced Sunday.

Creighton’s Doug McDermott, Georgetown’s Otto Porter Jr. and Michigan’s Trey Burke are the other finalists.

The winner will be revealed April 7 in Atlanta.

“These four players have performed at the highest level and have separated themselves appropriately from the other contenders,” said Shane Battier, Naismith spokesperson and Miami Heat forward. “As wide open as the NCAA tournament is, so will the race for the 2013 Naismith Trophy winner, and that’s what makes college basketball so exciting.”

Only a three-star recruit coming out of DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland, Oladipo has blossomed into an All-Big Ten honoree after posting 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and setting an IU single-season record with 75 steals.

“He wants to be successful, and he never stops working to make that happen, I mean, never stops working,” IU Coach Tom Crean said Saturday. “And everybody sees the rise of the player, and we’ve always had the student. He’s always done a great job in school.

"What I’ve seen is the rise of the student of the game and the way that he really, really studies the film and absorbs and tries to take things away.”

IU has seen Porter and Burke firsthand this season, while McDermott is the sole repeat finalist in the bunch.

— Max McCombs