Zeller glad he gave IU a chance

Just a little more than two years ago, sophomore forward Cody Zeller had yet to decide which college basketball program he would grace his presence with.

Two of his top three choices, Indiana, North Carolina and Butler, had been to the National Championship in the past two seasons, including a title for UNC in 2009.

The Tarheels were also home to his older brother, Tyler Zeller, who had won a championship ring his freshman season.

The younger Zeller decided to pave his own path, choosing to come to an IU program that would go on to win just 12 games that season and had won just 16-combined during the previous two years.

Zeller said he saw an IU program that was on its way but needed some more time to develop into the team that is now ranked No. 1 in the country.

“I had confidence in what Coach Crean was doing with the guys who were already here, and Remy and I and Austin who were coming in,” Zeller said. “Everyone was working hard, and everyone was improving constantly. It just hadn’t quite gotten rolling yet, but I had confidence that this was the best place for me.”

For Zeller, the choice wasn’t easy.

He said during his visit to North Carolina, he enjoyed meeting several of his brother’s friends, including Kendall Marshall, who he roomed with during his stay in Chapel Hill, N.C.

But Marshall, along with Tyler and other fellow Tarheel teammates Harrison Barnes and John Henson, left for the NBA draft last summer, leaving the younger Zeller with few players he still knows well outside of fellow sophomore forward James Michael McAdoo, who Zeller faced off against in a few AAU games as well as the McDonald’s All-American Game during their senior year.

“A lot of things have changed even since the last time I was down there with Tyler,” Zeller said. “Obviously the coaching staff, I have a lot of respect for them and how they treated me and Tyler.”

Zeller added that he won’t treat Tuesday’s matchup against UNC any differently than any other game, even with his recruiting past and the time his older brother put into the program.

“They were in my top three, and I have a lot of respect for everything they do,” Zeller said. “Their coaching staff is great. Tyler enjoyed his time there, but at the end of the day, I just thought IU was the best place for me, and I have no regrets from that.

“At the end of the day, it’s about who scores the most points.”