INDIANAPOLIS – Trying to keep Victor Oladipo out of the gym is harder than keeping a teenager away from a cellphone. Oladipo can’t remember the last time he went an entire day without touching a basketball. Whenever he travels, including vacations, two basketballs travel with him.

Indiana Pacers President Kevin Pritchard saw that firsthand when he flew back to Indianapolis on Thursday after the Pacers completed summer league play in Orlando. On the plane, Oladipo was holding a basketball.

“I think he’s motivated to be great,” Pritchard said during Friday’s news conference that introduced Oladipo, forward Domantas Sabonis and guard Darren Collison as the newest Pacers. “Sometimes guys get paid and they put it on cruise control. Victor is not on cruise control at all.”

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Many believe the Pacers should have gotten more for Paul George, the former face of their franchise who was traded to Oklahoma City for Oladipo and Sabonis. Many wanted the Pacers to get at least one first-round draft pick in return, but Pritchard wanted something more tangible – young players already in the NBA who were versatile and unselfish with plenty of upside.

Oladipo checks those boxes. But can he take another step and become an NBA star? The kind of player the Orlando Magic envisioned when they made Oladipo the second overall pick in the 2013 draft? The kind of star Oladipo was at Indiana University, where he was national college Player of the Year, led the Hoosiers to a 29-7 season and the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16, and took over games on a regular basis?

Still only 25 years old, Oladipo is determined to maximize his potential as a 6-5 guard with exceptional leaping ability and body control, capable of producing a highlight at any moment, with the agility to defend both shooting guards and point guards.

He will be at the Pacers’ facility before practice, after practice, game days, off days. Not because he feels pressure to justify what the Pacers got in return for George. Not because Oladipo has been traded for the second time in his still-young career.

He will do it because his parents raised Oladipo and his three sisters that way. For Oladipo, working hard was mandatory, not optional.

“My parents were Nigerian immigrants,” said Oladipo, who grew up in Upper Marlboro, Md., and played high school basketball at perennial power DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. “They came over here about 30, 31 years ago, and they had to work. I barely saw my parents growing up. My dad worked three or four jobs, my mom went to school and became a nurse, worked night shifts. They told me if I wanted to be anybody or do anything in this world, I had to work hard. That’s all I know.”

There are major questions to be answered about Oladipo, heading into his fifth NBA season averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He has been a solid two-way NBA player, but to become special, Oladipo must become more consistent as a scorer, more aggressive offensively, more savvy about when to look for his shot and when to create opportunities for others.

Oladipo’s 3-point shooting has improved from 32.7 percent as a rookie to 36.1 percent last season, which has helped his overall production. However, becoming a better shooter is just one of the keys for Oladipo. One of his mentors and close friends is Dwyane Wade of the Chicago Bulls, and the two players work out together every summer. Wade became a 12-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer at shooting guard without ever becoming one of the game’s great 3-point shooters. Oladipo said he recently spent time with Wade in Miami and asked him about the nuances of the game.

“I sit down and pick his brain,” said Oladipo. “It’s about being more aggressive, picking my spots on the floor that are effective and trying to get to those spots as much as I can. Making better decisions, better reads. Being in balance, getting my teammates involved, but at the same time keeping that relentlessness, keeping that aggressiveness, keeping that mentality that no matter what, I don’t care how many shots I miss, I’m not going to stop shooting the ball.”

Another Oladipo mentor is Tom Crean, the former IU coach who believes Oladipo’s best as an NBA player is yet to come. Crean pointed out that Oladipo has had four different head coaches in four NBA seasons and that learning different systems has made it more difficult for Oladipo to play without overthinking.

“There are so many different things he’s had to navigate during his career, but I know how important winning is to him,” said Crean, who coached Wade at Marquette. “Now it’s a matter of getting a feel for what they want him to do in Indiana, getting to know his teammates.

“Winning drives Victor. Getting better at both ends of the court drives him. Giving back to the community and helping people drives him. He’s got a chip on his shoulder, but it won’t be because of the fans, or critics of the trade. He’s way past that. Paul George is Paul George. It’s not about coming in and replacing Paul George. Victor Oladipo is his own person and still a very young player. He has a ton of really good basketball in front of him. Victor will be really good here. The people of Indiana will appreciate that, just like they appreciated him in college, where it worked out very, very well.”

When Oladipo was in high school, the DeMatha team was so loaded with talent that playing time could never be taken for granted. DeMatha coach Mike Jones remembers watching Oladipo in the eighth grade — a bad shooter who still impacted the game at both ends because of his energy.

“Victor just keeps coming and coming,” Jones said in a telephone interview. “The Pacers are getting a player who doesn’t take nights off. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone, anywhere he’s ever played, who will say he’s a bad teammate. He cares about winning. He’s funny, outgoing, likable. He comes from a great family.

“Stick with Victor. You won’t be sorry.”

Now on this third NBA team, Oladipo is hoping his stay with the Pacers will be a long one. Returning to Indiana feels right to Oladipo, and he plans to make the most of it.

“To come home, there’s no feeling like it,” Oladipo said. “Living, breathing, any way you can imagine, I’m a Hoosier.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Clifton Brown on Twitter: @CliftonGBrown