Cody Zeller (and Indiana Game Thread in the Comments)

11-12 Basketball General Miscellaneous & Fun Stuff223

Given Pack fans distaste for UNC’s absurdly awkward Senior, Tyler Zeller, we found it only appropriate to highlight his younger brother, Cody: the lone freshman in Tom Crean’s starting rotation. I can’t wait to see how the students go after him.

For starters, the family resemblance is impeccable.

Apparently his teammates aren’t trusting young Cody and he is having some trouble getting the ball. ESPN

Crean’s thoughts:

During a preseason scrimmage in October, Indiana coach Tom Crean saw something he didn’t like: His top freshman, Cody Zeller, wasn’t getting the ball. So Crean stopped practice to institute a rule. If the 6-foot-11 forward didn’t get at least one touch on a possession, his team’s bucket wouldn’t count.

“They did not lose the next couple of scrimmages,” Crean said later. “It was amazing. Cody makes it easier for everyone. Not to be a visionary, but I saw it coming.”

On a more serious note, at an athletic 6’ll”, Zeller could create a mis-match in the paint and The Pack will need to step up inside.

BJD Update: Because I’m lazy, this shall double as your open game thread. See you in the comments, bring the snark brothers and sisters. Hallelujah!!

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11-12 Basketball General Miscellaneous & Fun Stuff

223 Responses to Cody Zeller (and Indiana Game Thread in the Comments)

  1. MattN 11/30/2011 at 10:09 PM #

    That was possibly in my “Top 5 worst officiated games EVER.” The horseshit call on Wood is 2nd to the walk on Corchiani in the officiating hall-of-shame.

    I don’t know how these guys still have a job. I am really speakless…

  2. moose8865 11/30/2011 at 10:11 PM #

    xphoenix87, I have said the same thing, all these other teams have 2 or 3 guys that can nail the 3 pointer and we only have one, and really only one guy that can even hit a perimeter shot on a regular basis. Brown is good, but most of his points comes from in the paint area. I can’t wait till the recruits come in next year.

  3. Wulfpack 11/30/2011 at 10:12 PM #

    And yes – it is obvious to me shooting is becoming a weakness. Nobody except Wood can hit consistently. That concerns me. I do like our movement, though. And we appear to be crashing the boards for some easy buckets.

  4. WeAreCured 11/30/2011 at 10:12 PM #

    However, I will say that if we beat both St. Bonaventure and Northeastern and they both go on to have the seasons they are supposed to and somehow finish in the RPI top 50, this loss may not hurt quite as much.

  5. OldWuf 11/30/2011 at 10:12 PM #

    Really enjoyed watching us play. Wood messed up when he tried that block from behind trying to make up for getting juked out of his shorts.

  6. Old MacDonald 11/30/2011 at 10:15 PM #

    I don’t understand all the optimism. Terrible post defense. Terrible outside shooting. Lots of lazy play/bad decisions. Totally lost our composure at home. I don’t see all the “good” that others apparently do.

  7. tuckerdorm1983 11/30/2011 at 10:15 PM #

    I was impressed with us and see progress from week to week. We have no post up game to speak of where we pass it into the post and our player has his back to the basket. Also we only 1 real three point threat. That is going to make it hard to win every game. However, we have so much to make up for some of these things. Painter is the best all around player we have. Leslie is playing better on offense, though he took a couple long shots. Wood can’t get his shot with a defender on him. As Gott fills in the pieces to the puzzle, this year and then next, watch out. ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY.

  8. Dogbreath 11/30/2011 at 10:17 PM #

    The older Cretan looks just like Dean Smith. Wonder if the nose was banging Mrs. Zellar.

  9. TheCOWDOG 11/30/2011 at 10:18 PM #

    ” I find the diversity of post-game opinions here tonight very interesting. ”

    You know how that goes Wuf. You’re a vet.

    Ya can watch the same GD game…and come away from here thinkin’ ya just watched a rerun of Lost in Space.

  10. BJD95 11/30/2011 at 10:18 PM #

    Harder to watch – Nebraska/Wake or VPI/Minnesota? Discuss.

  11. wardncsu 11/30/2011 at 10:19 PM #

    Did anybody notice that Cody Zellers parents were at the game tonight. They only brought it up about 10 times

  12. moose8865 11/30/2011 at 10:24 PM #

    Other than Wood, we have had terrible shooters for the last 15 years

  13. erichack 11/30/2011 at 10:24 PM #

    NCSU is a much better basketball team than any of the teams I have seen since V…they play with purpose and confidence…they look to attack the basket…no gimmicks or bad attitude…IU is a very good team…they may be unranked now but that team will be playing in March…dont believe in moral victories, but i do believe in effort and smart play…i am seeing that in NCSU…i think it is too early in the season to say this game by itself is going to sink us tourney time…any game can do that…frustrated to come up short, but fundamentally we are playing bball again…its great to see…

  14. 61Packer 11/30/2011 at 10:26 PM #

    I was there tonight and felt we played really well at times and at other times the ugly street ball squad from last season was playing, resulting in some ill-advised shots by Howell and Leslie. Leslie was without doubt the most talented player on the floor tonight, but his skills, especially ball handling, are woeful, especially compared to Indiana’s Zeller. Leslie simply doesn’t know how to position himself inside to receive the ball, and when he does, he is unable to do anything with it unless he’s close enough to dunk it. He made some really good defensive plays tonight, but he needs to play with the team the entire game, not for just parts of it.

    Our interior D at times was lacking, but I thought the perimeter D, against a smaller backcourt, really hurt us. And the missed free throws down the stretch didn’t help either.

    All in all, a good game to watch, but the dunk at the end was classless. Say what you want for Bobby Knight, but he would never have allowed that kind of crap from his players, regardless of whose court they were playing on.

  15. redcanine 11/30/2011 at 10:31 PM #

    Don’t get me started on that f****ng dunk. ESPN showed it as the game’s only highlight leading up to the UNC and VPI game. Yeah, the game really boiled down to THAT play.

  16. TheAliasTroll 11/30/2011 at 10:34 PM #

    Oh shit the Zellars just arroved in Chapel Hill.

    On a side note, I can’t believe the guy in red behind the UNC bench hasn’t been tossed out by Awww Shucks yet.

  17. lush 11/30/2011 at 10:37 PM #

    Terrible interior D is just not accurate. We had Several blocks and rebounded well

  18. Wufpacker 11/30/2011 at 10:37 PM #

    I hear ya Cowdog. I hate losing as much as anyone, and during the game I was yelling my fool head off. But considering these players have only received about 45 days of coaching in their college careers (and yes, I’m talking about the upperclassmen as well), I have a hard time getting too worked up about their shortcomings at this point. They’re playing hard, playing unselfish, and playing with better fundamentals.

    For a “young” team, I see tonight’s game as a learning experience that will make them better down the road. I understand the OOC/RPI/Bubble arguments, but since I didn’t come into this season expecting a bid to the tourney anyway, I still say we’re playing with house money this season. By the end of the year I expect that we’ll be much more composed in pressure situations, at least in part due to lessons learned tonight.

  19. lush 11/30/2011 at 10:38 PM #

    Our perimeter d is a much bigger problem than interior

  20. Wufpacker 11/30/2011 at 10:40 PM #

    And Scott Wood is having a hard time getting free. I’m sure his ankle is causing some of this, but we need to start running some set plays (read: screens) to get him free.

  21. triadwolf 11/30/2011 at 10:44 PM #

    Thought we had it with about 5 to go, we had IU on the ropes and let them back in it. Make a couple free throws and don’t miss that dunk…oh well.

    Team came apart a little in the last couple of minutes, as did Coach Gott. That should not have been a FF on Wood, but the coach made his point and needed focus on winning the game after that. Would have been tough, but it was still within reach.

    We need someone else to step up as a shooter quickly or it’s going to be tough to win some of these tight games. Please with the effort, but we left the door open and IU was good enough to bust through. Gotta learn to put good teams away when you have the chance or else they’ll come back and bite you in the arse.

  22. TheAliasTroll 11/30/2011 at 10:49 PM #

    I can’t believe the guy in red behind the UNC bench hasn’t been tossed out by Awww Shucks yet.

  23. wolfonthehill 11/30/2011 at 10:50 PM #

    With 5 to go, we DID have it. All we had to do was keep scoring. We didn’t… despite numerous fast breaks and easy looks inside 10 feet. Choke job, dramatically aided by the officials down the stretch.

    Same shit, different coach, different year.

  24. TheAliasTroll 11/30/2011 at 10:53 PM #

    Did DeThaey get any minutes tonight? I know Vandy didn’t see the floor again.

  25. Thinkpack17 11/30/2011 at 10:55 PM #

    “Other than Wood, we have had terrible shooters for the last 15 years.”

    I don’t think so. IE, Jordan Collins, and Atsur were all good shooters. They were all on the same team.

    I was at the game and our fans wanted an intentional foul on Lo Brown getting slapped from behind on the dunk attempt. I thought that was crazy…until I saw the intentional foul called on Scooter.

    I just don’t get it. They are both “intentional”. You don’t give up a layup in a close game…period. Lo had a clear path, so did the Indiana player. Both players were fouled from the elbow down. The only difference is Scooter’s was much safer, wrapping the kid up before he left the ground. I just don’t get that call. Had he trailed the kid and waited until he took off to slap him is that a common foul? It doesn’t make sense.

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