Hard work transformed Oladipo into draft’s No. 2 pick
ORLANDO, Fla. — Victor Oladipo held his brandnew Orlando Magic jersey aloft Friday afternoon as he stood in front of a room filled with reporters, team officials and family for a photo opportunity and introductory news conference at Amway Center. He glanced downward to see his last name and his new No. 5, and he beamed from ear to ear.
He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his good fortune.
But the moment had nothing to do with luck.
It stemmed from countless hours of hard work that transformed him into the second overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.
“Nothing’s been given to me since Day 1,” Oladipo said. “My family always told me in order to achieve anything in this world, you have to work hard. That’s what I’ve been trying to do, and it’s gotten me to this point. It’s going to continue to keep me going throughout my career.”
That work will start up again in a few days when he and second-round draft pick Romero Osby, a former OU star, will join Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, DeQuan Jones, Doron Lamb, Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O’Quinn and others to practice for the upcoming Orlando Pro Summer League.
Those practices and five summer-league exhibition games will give Magic coaches a chance to evaluate what Oladipo can do on the court and determine what he needs to improve.
One of the questions revolves around his ability to handle the ball and initiate offense.
Asked whether he regards Oladipo as a shooting guard or as a point guard, Magic GM Rob Hennigan responded, “We see him as a guard.”
Some scouts also question whether he can shoot from long range, but he improved to 44 percent from behind the arc as a junior in 2012-13.
“I think you can just take a look at where Victor was his freshman year and where he is now: a nightand-day difference,” Hen- nigan said. “We remember watching him as a freshman and … if he was standing on the shore he probably couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean. But now that’s different.” The crowd laughed. So did Oladipo. “The reason that Vic can make jumpers now is because he put the time in, and we expect him to put even more time in moving forward,” Hennigan said.
Friday, however, was set aside for Oladipo and Osby to get acquainted with new surroundings, new coaches and new teammates.
Fans have sent them congratulatory messages over Twitter.
“It’s been a great feeling to be able to go on social media and just see how everybody is excited for me to be here and also Ro to be here,” Oladipo said. “It’s just a humbling experience. You’ve been dreaming about stuff like this all your life, and then for it to actually come true, it’s surreal.”