Victor Oladipo would like to see Romeo Langford play at IU.
The Pacers had just completed practice Friday, two days before their opening game of the NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team was in good spirits, and Victor Oladipo is always in a talkative mood.
As he made his way to the backdrop, where he answers questions from the media, he first fielded one from the good-humored assistant coach Bill Bayno. But, it had nothing to do with the team.
“I got one question: Will IU sign Romeo Langford?” he asked with a big grin.
Langford is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard ranked in the top five across the nation in the class of 2018. He is the face of the New Albany Bulldogs, whose second and final loss of the season came in the semi-state to No. 1 and eventual Class 4A State Champion, Warren Central High School.
Oladipo, who returned to Bloomington in January for his first game since suiting up in the cream and crimson, says he’s seen Langford play several times.
“Oh he’s going to be in the NBA. He’s going to be real good,” Oladipo said. “He’s really talented. Hopefully he makes the right choice.”
Would he look good in candy stripes?
“Yeah, he would.”
Don’t know about Romeo? Have you been paying attention? He’s going to be named the 2018 Indiana Mr. Basketball on April 29th, and he plans to announce his college choice the following evening at a ceremony held in his high school gym in New Albany.
His finalists: Indiana, Kansas, and Vanderbilt.
Oladipo is a proud Hoosier after three years in Bloomington. In a spectacular piece posted to The Players’ Tribune on Monday, Oladipo shared how his appreciation for Indiana and its fans.
His message: I promise, if you win here in Indiana, they’ll embrace you like no other.
I got to Bloomington, Indiana in 2010. Coming out of high school in Maryland, I chose Indiana because of the program’s history, but really I had no idea how serious people in Indiana took basketball. I think even right now very few people outside of Indiana recognize how much basketball means to the state. There’s a basketball hoop in every driveway. It’s all Hoosiers and Pacers flags. And a big high school game pretty much shuts an entire community down.
And when you’re on the IU team, they know. Like, they really make a point to get to know you.
You would think Oladipo’s article will be emailed, mailed, texted, DM’d to not just Romeo, but all of IU’s recruits.