Indiana Basketball: Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey Will Help Future Recruits

Indiana is off to a tremendous start this season, going 8-0 heading into today's showdown against No. 1 ranked Kentucky. There have obviously been several keys to the turnaround, notably the addition of heralded big man Cody Zeller. We cannot, however, fail to recognize the two players Tom Crean recruited from the 2010 class, neither of which came in with much hype.

Victor Oladipo was ranked the 144th best player in the class of 2011, and Will Sheehey as the 141st, according to Rivals. Both guys came in displaying raw energy, big time athleticism, and a great deal of potential. The kind of potential that could make scouts pay for having overlooked them coming into college.

It appears the now-sophomores are on their way to doing just that, with both guys averaging around 12 points per game to start the year. This makes the prospect of the future very interesting for the Hoosier Nation, with a consensus top-5 recruiting class on the way next season, which includes Indianapolis wings Jeremy Hollowell and Ron Patterson.

The 2012 class has been dubbed "The Movement," and at one point I, along with many others, expected Hollowell and Patterson to immediately come in and take over on the perimeter next year. As Oladipo and Sheehey have managed to exceed expectations, it doesn't appear as if that will be the case, which I now see as a good thing.

Hollowell and Patterson are both tremendous talents who could have very bright futures, but like most freshmen, they are both better served to have to work for playing time rather than winning it by default upon arrival. This is especially true because of the way Oladipo and Sheehey play. Both are intense competitors, who not only have come in and scored the ball well, but have changed the culture in Bloomington as they both play to win and have gained reputations as workaholics in the offseason.

Both are noted as high character guys who don't get questioned for their desire or competitiveness, something Hollowell has been criticized for. Hollowell has NBA potential, and learning to play all out every minute he's on the floor will go a long way to helping him reach that goal in the future. Not to mention, to borrow from Kentucky coach John Calipari, no player can do it by himself.

The more talent that is on the roster, the more wins the team will accumulate and the easier it will be for guys to play at the next level.

Tom Crean's heralded 2009 recruiting class, which included Maurice Creek, Christian Watford, and Jordan Hulls, was was not afforded the privilege of having quality players to learn from, as they were the best choices for playing time as soon as they stepped on campus.

The result? 

A combined 22 wins in their first two seasons.

It appears there will be a logjam on the perimeter in the coming seasons, and someone is likely to be unhappy with their minutes, but a definite certainty is that among all of the talent that will be suiting up, the best and most deserving players will play, which certainly is not a bad problem to have if you're Coach Crean.