Cody Zeller shows growing comfort in return to Indiana
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – Back in snowy Central Indiana, the only soil he’d ever known until four months ago, and suiting up in the arena where he won three state titles in high school, Cody Zeller’s mind wandered back to schoolwork. Here it was mid-December, and his former Indiana University teammates in the stands had final exams on their plate.
Not Zeller. Just basketball. The days may blend together, living in beautiful Charlotte away from family may take some getting used to, and the hotel room numbers come and go with nights on the road, but Zeller is doing what he loves for a hefty paycheck.
“It’s definitely fun,” said Zeller of being in the NBA. “It’s a big change on and off the court. Obviously, playing against the best players in the world every night has been tough. I’m enjoying it. There’s a lot worse things I could be doing.”
On Friday, Zeller and the Bobcats made their only visit this season to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and dropped a competitive, hard-fought game to the Pacers, who improved to 20-3 with a 99-94 victory. Zeller scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds in a solid outing off the bench as Charlotte (10-13) continued to show improvement under first-year coach Steve Clifford.
Taken with the No. 4 pick in June, Zeller had mostly struggled but found a way to make a difference playing in front of his father Steve and mother Lorri. Unfortunately, Zeller’s college coach, Tom Crean, was unable to attend since his teenage son Riley had a game of his own.
Crean missed a night in which the young Zeller appeared to very much belong. The Bobcats’ bench was the main catalyst behind their success in the game, and Zeller’s net plus-minus was the best on the team. Charlotte outscored the Pacers by seven when he was on the floor.
Zeller’s playing time came in two long stints: a stretch of 9:32 spanning the first and second quarters, and a period of 9:27 spanning the third and fourth. In the first half, the Bobcats scored on 11 of 17 possessions with Zeller in the lineup, turning what was a six-point deficit when Zeller checked in with 4:32 remaining in the opening stanza into a four-point lead when Zeller departed with 7 minutes left in the half.
Clifford felt Zeller helped most with ballhandling and decision-making.
“We had that stretch with our second unit on the floor where we started making more stops and getting the ball up the floor quicker and attacking,” Clifford said.
While Zeller had two assists, his best pass showed up in the wrong column, through no fault of his own. Late in the first, with the shot clock running down, Zeller drove from the high post, drew a defender, left his feet and zipped the ball into the belly of Bismack Biyombo, who should have had a layup. Except Biyombo has notoriously bad hands, and fumbled the catch. Steal by Roy Hibbert. And an unfair turnover charged to Zeller’s ledger – he had just one other.
Offensively, Zeller centered his efforts on making the right play, even if he clearly is not yet a major focus of Charlotte’s attack. By an unofficial count of IndySportsLegends.com, Zeller touched the ball just 17 times on his 36 possessions. He took five shots, making two, and is shooting 38.4 percent from the field in his rookie season.
Zeller confidently drained a catch-and-shoot 21-footer from the left elbow on his first attempt. Early in the second quarter, Zeller displayed savvy and toughness on a memorable sequence. Cutting down the lane behind an inattentive Luis Scola, Zeller caught a bounce pass from Ben Gordon just outside the charge circle. Zeller then faked Ian Mahinmi off his feet and went up for a layup, which was blocked from behind by Scola. Zeller caught his own rebound and finished this time through Mahinmi’s contact, drawing a foul and converting the three-point play.
“I just wanted to come in and be aggressive,” Zeller said. “I’m feeling more comfortable out there on the offensive end. I’m beginning to be more productive. I tried to take advantage of my quickness and bring a spark off the bench.”
Zeller’s other misses: a bold shot off the bounce and a 15-footer. The latter is exactly the type of shot Clifford wants from Zeller, who’s playing as a stretch power forward after being a center for Crean.
“Right now, the biggest thing is his face-up jump shot, the 17-18 feet (range) which he’s getting more comfortable with,” Clifford said. “Down the line, to be exceptional he’s going to have to develop a specific way to score, be it a post-up, an elbow iso, high post off the lane, some type of individual offense. That’s the difference between the NBA and college. College is more five-man basketball. Not many guys come into the league with a skill set which will allow them to score in the NBA. It usually has to be developed. Your first couple years in the league are always the same. It’s your shooting consistency and then developing a specific way to score.”
Zeller’s also in the embryonic stages defensively. Indiana power forwards made that known. David West overpowered Zeller on the block, and Zeller, slow to recover to his man at times on the screen-and-roll, allowed multiple jumpers to Scola.
“They’re both talented players,” Zeller said. “Scola’s very skilled: a lot of shot fakes and stuff. Obviously, David West is a strong handful down there. That’s just this league.”
Zeller’s best moment defensively was a leaping block of Lance Stephenson’s layup attempt late in the third. He had to swivel and lunge so quickly that he scarcely recalled how he touched the ball.
“I don’t even know what happened,” Zeller said. “I just tried to make a play.”
Zeller had a few other high-wattage plays in the second half – driving hard at Defensive Player of the Year candidate Hibbert to earn and make two free throws, plus a beautiful pass to Jeffery Taylor cutting baseline for a dunk – and then reflected on a personal occasion. After all, Zeller had just a played a game in the glitziest league on the planet just two hours north of where he grew up in humble Washington, Ind.
So happy to be coming home was Zeller that on Thursday he tweeted, “I’m trying to convince my teammates that we’re flying to Paradise today. I don’t know why they aren’t as excited as me!”
So, how was frigid Paradise?
“It was definitely fun,” Zeller said. “It brought back a lot of memories even of playing here back in high school, college a few games and stuff. It was nice being back here in Indiana and seeing some friends before and after the game.”
Not that Zeller is totally removed. He’s plans to return to the Indiana campus this summer to finish his business degree. Zeller left college after his sophomore year.
Now he’s finally settled into quite a different routine after 23 games. Of the heartbreaking loss, which arguably was a moral victory for undermanned Charlotte, Zeller said, “You’ve got to forget about it. There are no easy games in this league. We’ve got the Lakers tomorrow.”
Averaging 5.3 points a game in 17.9 minutes, Zeller keeps plugging. The Bobcats already love his fit in the locker room.
“He’s great,” Clifford said. “He’s a cornerstone guy. He’s high character both as a person and an athlete. He’s an excellent worker. He’s a great teammate who’s into the team. Couldn’t be better. We’re lucky to have him.”
Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.
