A Look Back at Cody Zeller's Illustrious Indiana Basketball Career Ahead of NBA Finals Debut
Remember Cody Zeller? He's the 6-foot-11, 240 pound forward/center out of Washington, Ind., who suited up with the Indiana Hoosiers for two seasons from 2011-13. He's now wearing a Miami Heat jersey ready to make his NBA Finals debut versus the Denver Nuggets Thursday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.
It's hard to believe Zeller is now 30 years old and has been in the NBA for 10 years originally selected fourth overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, now known as the Hornets.
All great athletes have to start somewhere, and that beginning came from Bloomington, Ind. when the Indiana High School's Mr. Basketball and McDonald's All-American immediately made an impact as a freshman.
Mar 28, 2013; Washington, D.C., USA; Indiana Hoosiers forward Cody Zeller (40) looks to drive against Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas (25) during the first half of the semifinals of the East regional of the 2013 NCAA Tournament at the Verizon Center.
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Zeller started all 36 games and led the team with 15.6 points shooting 62.3 percent from the field, which was fourth in the nation and second all-time at Indiana. He started alongside other big names like Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls, Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey and Verdell Jones III where each starter minus Sheehey and Jones averaged double-figure scoring.
Oladipo now plays for the Heat alongside Zeller but will be sidelined for the Finals after tearing his patellar tendon in his left knee in Game 3 of the first round versus Milwaukee.
In that 2011-12 Hoosier season, Indiana appeared in the first NCAA Tournament under former head coach Tom Crean advancing all the way to the south regional semifinals before falling to No. 1-seed Kentucky 102-90. Still, Zeller raked in a wall of awards including AP Honorable Mention All-American, Freshman All-American from Yahoo, Sporting News and USBWA and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
When the next season rolled around, Zeller elevated his game averaging 16.5 points, and 8.1 boards per game. He helped lead the Hoosiers to a Big Ten regular season title going 14-4 in conference, which propelled the Hoosiers to another NCAA Tournament appearance. Top-seed Indiana lost to No. 4 Syracuse 61-50 in the east regional semifinals.
Zeller's All-American status for various outlets picked up as he also landed a spot on the John R. Wooden All-America Team. He finished his Hoosiers career with 1,157 career points in just two seasons before declaring for the NBA Draft on April 10, 2013.
After eight seasons with Charlotte, three of which where he averaged double-figure scoring, Zeller signed with the Portland Trailblazers in Aug. 2021 but was waived in Feb. 2022 as a result of the CJ McCollum trade. Zeller tried his luck with the Utah Jazz but was once again waived in Oct. 2022.
Finally, Zeller found a new home with the Heat in Feb. 2023. He's played in 16-of-18 postseason games for No. 8-seed Miami averaging 9.2 minutes for 2.6 points and 2.7 boards per contest. Fans have probably noticed the clear mask on his face he's worn since March after he suffered a nasal fracture playing the Orlando Magic.
May 23, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) controls the ball against Miami Heat center Cody Zeller (44) in the third quarter during game four of the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2023 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center.
© Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
The U.S. Sun reported Zeller will be in action in Thursday night's NBA Finals Game 1 tipoff versus the Western Conference champions and top-seeded Denver Nuggets at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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