MIAMI — Dwyane Wade instantly took a liking to Victor Oladipo when they met several years ago.
But the friendship between Wade and Oladipo intensified this past summer when Oladipo spent part of August at Indiana University working out with Wade, a few Miami Heat players and Hoosiers teammate Cody Zeller.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” Wade said of Oladipo on Tuesday, before Wade’s Heat faced Oladipo’s Orlando Magic in a preseason game at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Wade added: “Just seeing him, he does very similar things to the way I played when I was young, and he picks things up pretty fast. He can be as good as he wants to be in the sense of how much work he puts in on his game and on his body as well, because he has a game like me.”
Wade and Oladipo played for the same college coach, Tom Crean. Wade played for Crean at Marquette University, while Oladipo played for Crean at Indiana.
Oladipo has spoken often about how much he appreciates Wade, and Oladipo stresses he’s thankful for Wade’s willingness to be a mentor.
Oladipo has often reached out to Wade for advice.
“I just love the work ethic that he has, and he’s a good kid,” Wade said. “And my job, and some of our jobs, is as ambassadors of the game. Guys who’ve been through it [should] pass back that knowledge, especially when a young guy comes to you and asks for it.”
Oladipo sat out the game because of a sprained knee ligament.
Helping out
Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of Kyle O’Quinn‘s first NBA preseason game: the Magic’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans in Mexico City.
So O’Quinn offered some advice to Magic rookies Aaron Gordon, Devyn Marble and Elfrid Payton prior to Tuesday’s preseason opener.
“I told them it’s much different than practice, and you will be nervous,” O’Quinn recalled.
“But I remember my first game. I told them at least their first game is in the States. Mine was in Mexico. So they’ll be a little nervous, but they’ll get through it. I’m going to see to it that I’ll be there by their side, because I know how tough it is with Game 1.”
Familiar face
Josh McRoberts‘ Magic tenure didn’t last long. He was acquired in the Dwight Howard trade in Aug. 2012. But, just six months later, in order to give McRoberts a chance to play and to open playing time for players such as O’Quinn and Andrew Nicholson, the Magic traded McRoberts to the Charlotte Bobcats for a player the Magic immediately waived.
McRoberts’ value has soared since the Magic traded him. The 6-foot-10 forward helped the Bobcats reach the playoffs last season and then signed a multi-year deal several months ago to join the Heat.
“I think I can continue to improve, obviously,” McRoberts said. “But it makes you feel good to have some success. I’ve kind of had ups-and-downs throughout my earlier career, so it feels good.”
jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
