Indiana University Athletics
IUHoosiers.Com Talks With Cody Zeller
5/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 19, 2014
Former Indiana All-American Cody Zeller, also the No. 4 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, recently returned to Bloomington. IUHoosiers.com was able to catch up with him to find out how his first season in the NBA went as well as talk about some other topics.
What was the first year like for you?
"This last year has been a lot of fun. Your rookie year is a big learning year. The college game is completely different than the NBA game so I felt like throughout the year I learned a lot. I got better throughout the year. I was fortunate to have a lot of good veterans, a good coaching staff and they helped me along. I think I set myself up for a nice NBA career."
How is it different playing for a playoff team? How important was that to your development as a rookie?
"It is a big difference playing on a playoff team compared to a team that's not as successful. Being a playoff team, there are only small opportunities. They didn't need me to come in and score 20 points a night. They wanted me to come in to rebound and play defense. Hopefully a bigger opportunity will be there in the future. But I accepted my role and that's what the team needed from me. I loved being in the playoffs and having a successful year. I couldn't have asked for a better rookie year."
What were the biggest adjustments you had to make in your life?
"The transition was tough on the court and off the court. Obviously on the court it was a big difference stepping into the NBA and playing against the best players in the world every night for 82 games in the regular season. Off the court, moving to a new city, a big city and being 21 years old and living alone was a big difference as well. There's actually a lot of free time in the NBA, so a lot of times we'd practice at 10:30 or 11 in the morning and I'd be done and back at home by 2 and not have anything to do the rest of the night. So it's a lot of free time. It's nice for a while but sometimes you get bored and it just takes time to develop relationships in a new city. Just like anything else, you want to make friends with the right people and it is just one of those things, it takes time."
How well did playing at IU prepare you for the next level?
"Playing at IU prepared me for the NBA just because you are playing in the Big Ten, playing against the best players in college and then playing at Assembly Hall in front of big crowds and always playing on TV. It kind of prepared me for playing on the big stage of the NBA, especially in the NBA playoffs with millions of people watching, big crowds and every play matters. That was the same way in a lot of the best Big Ten games we played here."
What does the experience of meeting so many Hoosiers across the country mean to you?
"It was unbelievable for me to see the IU support. Obviously I knew the IU support was great here in Bloomington and at Assembly Hall every night, but it was really neat for me just to see the different alumni associations throughout different cities. Obviously the one in Charlotte was a great support when (Victor Oladipo) and I played against each other. I had 30, 40, 50 people in Denver and Philadelphia and throughout the country it seemed like everywhere I went there were IU fans there with number 40 jerseys. That was really neat for me to see and kind of reminded me of Bloomington and back home. It was really humbling this year to see all the IU support."
Knowing the strength of your character, are you still able to follow the same path as a person despite being a public figure?
"Definitely. I don't think the money or the fame of the NBA is going to change who I am. Like someone said, the money doesn't change you, it changes the people that are around you. I really haven't had too much of that. But it is a lot different being a grown up, paying taxes, paying rent, doing all that stuff. I think I'm adjusting to it fairly well."
You were close to graduating when you left Indiana, how are your academic pursuits proceeding?
"I left Indiana with 35 credits until graduation. Basically my next thing is I-Core at the Kelley School of Business. This summer, I'm not able to take it because of summer league and so I'm just taking a couple online classes for some elective requirements. So by the end of summer, I'll be down to 29 and making a little bit of progress, then hopefully do I-Core next summer."
How often do you connect with Hoosier teammates?
"We had a really close group at Indiana my last year. It was a unique opportunity when I was here and I think its life long relationships with those guys. We all kept in touch well, obviously Derek (Elston), Christian (Watford) and Jordan (Hulls) even being overseas playing, we still kept in touch pretty well. Obviously playing Vic throughout the year, it was fun. Even during games, sometimes we'd have a group text going with all of us watching the games and stuff. We definitely stayed in touch with a lot of the IU guys here and watched as much as we could and definitely stayed in touch."
What have you and Coach Crean talked about since you finished your season?
"I talked to Coach Crean when I got back here in the past week or so just about how different the NBA game is and the adjustment and all that. He's been great through it all. It's been a big jump going from college to the NBA, but I feel like my two years at Indiana prepared me well for that jump."
What will you be doing this offseason?
"It has definitely been nice to have a little off time and see some friends and family here in Bloomington or Indiana. I'll be back down in Charlotte for most of June and July. I'm playing summer league in July and I'm going to Taiwan in June for Basketball Without Borders. I'll actually be a camp counselor helping coach kids for a few days in Taiwan. That will be my first time out of the country besides playing the Toronto Raptors, so it will be a neat opportunity for me. Other than that, I'll be mostly in Charlotte working out."
