Indiana Hoosiers: Is Troy Williams The Next Victor Oladipo?

Tom Crean’s best professional player to come from the Indiana Hoosiers has been Victor Oladipo, a fact that would have come as a shock upon his initial recruitment. Now, in 2015, the Hoosier faithful may be looking at Oladipo 2.0 in Troy Williams.

The similarities between Williams and Oladipo are extensive. Coming out of high school, Oladipo was considered a three-star recruit out of Maryland, ranked outside the top 100 on Rivals. Williams was a four-star prospect that was a bit more highly touted, but was featured in the recruiting class of Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, meaning he, too, was far out of the spotlight.

From the moment they stepped on campus, though, the comparisons have accelerated. The simplest way would be to look at the per-game stats of the two players in their first seasons.

Victor Oladipo:

Troy Williams

These are nearly identical numbers. Whereas Williams played a few more minutes a game, Oladipo shot better from three-point range. Everything after that is spot-on. In both seasons, the physical skills of the player’s were seen in glimpses, but the maturation that was needed was very evident.

Now, what happens when you look at their second seasons and the jump they made? Again, let’s look at the stats, this time with no names attached:

This time, Williams’ stats are on top, and nearly across the board, they’re better averages. More points, rebounds, better field goal shooting, and better three-point shooting (although neither are very good). Despite the foreseen potential, few, if any, expected the jump Williams has made this year.

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The off-season was a tumultuous one for Williams and the Hoosiers, which has been well-documented. After serving his suspension for failing a drug test, Williams returned for third game of the season, a match-up against then-ranked SMU. However, it wasn’t until Indiana’s contest a few games later against Eastern Washington that Williams started making his mark on the season. Living on cuts to the basket and put-backs off Hoosier misses, Williams finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds.

After stepping a small step back five games (despite scoring in double figures each game), Williams shined bright against the Butler Bulldogs in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. With teammate and leader Yogi Ferrell saddled on the bench with foul trouble, Williams had arguably the best game of his career, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Two games later, against Georgetown on the biggest stage of basketball in Madison Square Garden, he set a new career-high with 23 points and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists, albeit in a losing effort.

Nonetheless, Williams’ steep jump in production was unexpected this season, much like Oladipo’s was in his sophomore year. Oladipo went from a project to a key player for the Hoosiers in a season that saw them shock the Kentucky Wildcats and make a run to the Sweet 16 in the tournament.

Both are athletic players, where Oladipo was more of a freak athlete while Williams has NBA-length. Oladipo is a point guard/shooting guard hybrid while Williams is a small forward/power forward hybrid.

Projecting forward, Oladipo’s jump between his sophomore in junior year moved him from a solid player to a superstar in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers can only hope to have lightning strike twice.

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