IU Basketball Alum Victor Oladipo Shoots, Scores—and Sings

It doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan.

If his NBA career doesn’t pan out for whatever reason, former Indiana University basketball star Victor Oladipo may be able to find a niche for himself in the recording studio. The 6-foot-5 guard got a mention on list-happy Buzzfeed this week when it posted an instant-classic video of the Maryland native crooning Bill Withers’s classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” with fellow IU Hoosier athlete Shelby Gogreve, a softball player.
The duo performed the song earlier this month at the Spirit of Indiana Showcase for Indiana University Athletics.
Hopefully Oladipo, who was tapped second overall by the Orlando Magic in the NBA Draft, has a long and prosperous career. However, considering his talented vocal cords, one hopes he has a halftime-performance clause buried deep in his two-year, $9.72-million-guaranteed contract.
Oladipo has played in all five of Orlando’s games so far this season, even beginning his NBA career by playing in a 97-87 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 29. Through those five games, Oladipo averaged 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and three assists.
It remains to be seen how the absences of Oladipo and fellow first-round draftee Cody Zeller will impact this year’s edition of Hoosier basketball. The Tom Crean–coached team starts their season tonight against Chicago State. After starting last season ranked No. 1 in the nation, this year’s squad is nowhere to be seen in the preseason rankings.
Here’s hoping that this season doesn’t offer a twist on Withers’s song, which has it like this: “Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone/ Only darkness everyday.”
So have at it, Hoosier fans: How will this 2013-14 #IUBB squad fare without these two titans roaming the court?