Will and Vic

"The reason a lot of people are Purdue fans? Because they can't afford Final Four tickets." Tom Swanson

Yes, I'm a pretty happy guy right now. My Indiana Hoosiers are riding high again, finally. They've just come off an epic victory against Michigan State and are looking good getting ready to head into the tournaments (Big Ten and NCAA).

Coach Tom Crean has done a masterful job of resurrecting this storied old program bringing it from the brink of chaos (one scholarship player who used to be a walk-on) to being ranked #1 in the nation.  It shows no signs of slowing down due to success on the court combined with a rich basketball history, the best fan base in the country and a relentless recruiting presence.

Due to these factors Coach Crean is able to get the attention of many of the top high school ball players in the land.  His upcoming recruiting classes are already ranked in the top 10.  Yes, success breeds success.

Here’s my worry.  Where do the future Will Sheehey’s and Victor Oladipo’s come from?

Who?

Will and Vic.

Here’s the point.  Victor Oladipo is a 6’5” Junior.  He is currently in strong contention for National Player of the Year (POY) in college basketball.  Will Sheehey is a 6’6” Junior who is currently the leading candidate for National Sixth Man of the Year and only doesn’t start because of the energy and chaos he brings when he comes off the bench.

Neither player was highly regarded coming out of high school.  Neither had offers from any of the big time programs except Indiana and that was primarily because IU was in total rebuilding mode and couldn’t get the attention of many of the top players.  Both were known as good athletes but not necessarily good basketball players.

Both have developed into top players on the current best team in the country.  How?  Well, both, as mentioned, are very athletic which obviously helps.  They have great coaches and top notch facilities in which to practice.  But what they have brought with them is an edge.  A burning desire to show all those people who disregarded them what a tremendous mistake they made.

We see this every year when teams from lesser regarded conferences come into the tournament with players who weren’t recruited by the Indiana’s, Kentucky’s and Duke’s and wreak havoc with kids who have something to prove.

Finding talent – from high school ball players to your next new hire – cannot always be measured by recruiting rankings or GPA’s from highly regarded schools(although let’s be honest, it certainly helps) but sometimes you need to find that person with an edge, something to prove and bring them in and help them develop.  Your next Will or Victor could be out there.