In today’s edition of Banner Morning:
• Touching base again with former IU big man Cody Zeller
Transcript
Welcome Hoosier fans to today’s edition of Banner Morning — your daily rundown of IU basketball news and notes.
I’m Cameron Drummond and let’s catch up with Cody Zeller.
While all major professional sports leagues have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps the NBA was the most high profile of them all.
It was the first major professional North American sports league to cancel games due to the virus, and the abrupt shutdown of the league, which came midway through Indiana’s Big Ten Tournament win over Nebraska, set the tone for the future sports-related fallout of the virus.
This was just one of the many topics touched on by Zeller, an IU alum still with the Charlotte Hornets, in a wide-ranging interview done over the weekend with Inside The Hall’s Alex Bozich.
Zeller recounted that he was unaware of the decision by the NBA to suspend its season until he came off the court following a win in Miami, throwing his life and career into flux.
“Whatever it was, we didn’t really know how it was going to go from there,” Zeller said. “It’s been crazy ever since.”
The following weeks saw Zeller stay in Charlotte while he was still able to work out at team facilities. When that was no longer an option, he came back to his native Indiana, splitting time between his parents’ place in his hometown of Washington, where he starred for the Washington High School Hatchets, and his brother Luke’s residence in Bloomington.
Zeller has since returned to Charlotte, but remains realistic about the slim chance the NBA has to resume the season. He also wonders what that would even look like for his Charlotte team, which currently sits seven games out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
To his credit, Zeller does hope some kind of NBA playoffs take place this season to give some of his former teammates a chance to win a title, like Marvin Williams with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Otherwise, Zeller has been mentally and physically resting from what was a testing season. An influx of younger players on the Charlotte team following a roster reshuffle meant Zeller came off the bench this season, and although he still averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game this season, it was a different role for the 419-game NBA veteran.
It’s difficult for him to now remain as plugged into Indiana basketball as he once was, but the games he’s been able to watch and the times he’s rubbed shoulders with the new regime have all earned positive reviews.
“I think the future is bright. Archie’s been good,” Zeller said. “When he’s teaching the kids, it’s all good X’s and O’s. I’m definitely a fan.”
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We’ll be back on Friday with a new edition of Banner Morning. Until then, keep your elbows in, your eyes on the rim, and go Hoosiers.
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