Indiana University sophomore forward Cody Zeller led his team to a resounding 83-59 victory over rival North Carolina this week in front of a boisterous overflow home crowd at the Assembly Center in Bloomington, Indiana. It was an outstanding outing for the Hoosiers as they dominated the nationally ranked Tar Heels from buzzer to buzzer. It was never even close. Cody and his team mates displayed an amazingly quick passing attack that simply out ran and baffled North Carolina all evening.
Cody comes from a family which boasts already great basket ball traditions and he is already on his way to extending the legacy.
The Zeller Family hails from Washington, Indiana. They are arguably the nation’s foremost producers of stellar basketball players. Cody is the nephew of former NBA players Al Eberhard and Ricky Titcomb. He is also the youngest brother of former North Carolina and current Cleveland Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller and former Notre Dame and current Phoenix Suns forward Luke Zeller.
Despite pressures brought on by unusually high expectations, commentators have noted his humility and work ethic, along with dry wit and prankster’s mirth.
More than anything, Zeller is known for a high basketball IQ.
Cody has already displayed an outstanding combination of mobility, scoring instincts and aggressiveness, while also being an incredibly agile and fluid big man who runs the floor well and has the explosiveness to play above the rim on a regular basis.
In his senior year in high school, Zeller was named Indiana Mr. Basketball, the state’s highest honor for high school players and an award both of his elder brothers, Tyler & Luke, also won before him.
In 2010,Cody committed to play for Indiana University, turning down offers from North Carolina and Butler. Upon his commitment he was labeled “the savior of Indiana basketball”. At the time Coach Tom Crean noted, “He’s the most mentally focused kid I’ve ever recruited … I see a young man that has mental toughness that is not normal.”
Cody Zeller carries himself like a guard, making it hard to tell that he’s seven-feet tall. In Zeller’s first year as a Hoosier during the 2011-12 season he led the team with 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 62.3 percent (200-of-321) from the field and 75.5 percent (163-of-216) from the free throw line.
Zeller was the Big Ten’s 2011Freshman of the Year.
