Indiana Basketball: Oladipo prepping for return as other Hoosiers stand out

Another week of the NBA season passes and many former Indiana basketball players continue to make their mark in the league.

The NBA season is quickly picking up and with teams starting to get in the swing of things, many former Indiana basketball players are showing their worth to their respective teams, while others may be dispensable.

Though Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan remain in the G-Leauge, it is another former Hoosier who will be joining them in Victor Oladipo. Oladipo has been practicing with the Indiana Pacers’ affiliate Fort Wayne Mad Ants as he continues to get closer to a return. While there is no timeline set in place with a projected date of his return, the possibility of him getting back on the court in December is not out of the question.

With Oladipo returning, it is Eric Gordon who will now be sidelined. Earlier this week, the Houston Rockets announced that Gordon would miss up to six weeks with a knee injury that would need surgery. 

Let’s take a look at his the rest of the Hoosiers in the NBA are doing.

Thomas Bryant (Washington Wizards – 14.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists)

The Wizards’ big man has been the main standout all year out of all of the former Indiana players, and he continued his good play this past week.

Though he failed to get a double-double, something he has four of this season, he was still a factor on the boards and with his shot.

With the play of Bradley Beal and Isaiah Thomas increasing, Bryant’s shot attempts have slipped a bit, but he remains extremely effective when he gets the chance.

Noah Vonleh (Minnesota TImberwolves – 4.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists)

Though Vonleh continues to see limited minutes, he remains extremely effective and efficient with his time on the floor.

Headlined by a three-point, eight rebounds, and four assist performance against the Rockets, Vonleh keeps finding ways to impact the game outside of scoring the ball.

If he can continue to be a force on the boards and use his versatility to his advantage, his minutes should increase but his ceiling will always be capped by the play of Karl Anthony-Towns.

Yogi Ferrell (Sacramento Kings – 5.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists)

After essentially being benched and sent to the end of the rotation a couple of weeks ago, a De’Aaron Fox ankle injury may have given Ferrell some life.

In three games last week, Ferrell averaged 20.7 minutes a game, after having just 26 total minutes combined in his previous five games played on the season.

His week was highlighted by a 14-point performance against the Lakers. Overall he should continue to see a major increase in his minutes until Fox returns to the lineup.

OG Anunoby (Toronto Raptors – 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists)

The NBA Champion has had a very underrated season after the departure of Kawhi Leonard, and despite a rocky week, he still remains someone who could be breaking out of his shell.

Unfortunately Anunoby had his week cut short after getting poked in the eye just two minutes into the Raptors game against the Los Angeles Clippers, causing him to miss the rest of the game plus the following game as well.

He did return on Saturday, a game in which he added eight points in 32 minutes.

Cody Zeller (Charlotte Hornets – 12.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists)

It has been well publicized how Zeller’s role increased after the departure of Kemba Walker, but it’s not a very consistent increase for Zeller.

After a hot start to the season, having four straight double-doubles, Zeller has yet to have one since and has just one game with double-digit shot attempts since the second week of the season.

Zeller continues to be a very nice piece to the Hornets starting lineup, but it will be interesting to see how he is used with a lot of extremely young pieces around him.