Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Victor Oladipo now a "lottery lock"?
By Joe Kaiser
Victor Oladipo's NBA draft stock continues to sky-rocket, and his performance in the critical final minutes of Indiana's win at Michigan State last night only helped his case.
Oladipo is now all the way up to No. 5 on Chad Ford's Big Board, the second shooting guard on the list after Kansas' Ben McLemore, who currently holds the top spot.
The challenge scouts and NBA executives could have with Oladipo is determining whether he has the size and the offensive game to be an impact player at the next level. He's listed at 6-foot-5, 214 pounds, but both may be generous -- we'll see during the NBA Draft combine, if he does in fact declare for the draft after his junior season.
However, Adam Zagoria reports that Oladipo's outstanding season already has a number of NBA personnel convinced.
“He is playing with a lot of confidence," said one veteran NBA scout who was at the game, according to Zagoria. "Needs to work on ball skills and his mid-range game offensively. Best perimeter defender in college.”
Zagoria writes that one NBA GM added: “Great athlete, outstanding on-ball defender. Limited offensive player. Lottery lock.”
