Indiana, Crean Hope to Convince Zeller

Indiana needs Cody Zeller. Tom Crean needs Cody Zeller.

The last of the Zeller brothers is inching closer to his college decision. Wednesday, Washington senior Cody Zeller narrowed his list to three schools. Indiana, Butler and North Carolina.

He now is in no hurry to rush into a decision. Instead of taking the allowable five official visits, Cody will visit those final three this fall before making a decision. He is one of the most coveted players in the country. His Indiana Elite traveling team has an All-Star roster that demands college coaches attention. And it begins with Cody.

Earlier this summer at North Central, there were over 20 head coaches on hand for one of their games. Cody Zeller spoke with The Indianapolis Star’s Jeff Rabjohns Wednesday afternoon and he was very high on Indiana.

Indiana, they’ve got Tom Crean, who is turning around the program. They have the new Cook Hall, which is real nice, and they have one of the best business schools in the country…The players and coaches are the biggest things. Those are the guys you’re going to be around. The business school. The facilities. A lot of things I’ve had to look at through the whole process.

Indiana has had their struggles in recruiting. This decade IU has missed out on more than their fair share of NBA players like Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Jeff Teague and Sean May. They have ignored basketball country and recruited outside the state of Indiana. Crean has mentioned on more than one occasion that he intends to change that.

Landing Zeller would be a tremendous stride in the right direction for this Hoosier program. Kelvin Sampson put them through this whole ordeal and Tom Crean has been determined and energized through the rebuilding process. But it has to change now.

Already Indiana has Zeller’s AAU teammate Austin Ethrington committed for 2011. Jeremiah Davis remains uncommitted, as does Yogi Ferrell in 2012. Signing Zeller could mean another teammate or two follows, along with other strong recruits in 2012 like D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Hanner Perea, or Jeremy Hollowell. Landing Zeller would open pipelines…and it would also take some pressure off Crean who hasn’t picked up the recruits Indiana fans expect and demand.

My gut feeling says North Carolina, but my heart says Indiana. With UNC you have a hall-of-fame coach, national championships in his lifetime (that’s important), and a bright future. At IU, Zeller has a chance to live in the hearts of Indiana fans forever. He would forever be remembered as the guy that brought the tradition back to Assembly Hall. It doesnt’t hurt that he would start right away, thrive in the business school, and have hot sorority girls all over him.

Cody Zeller and his family have handled this whole recruiting process diligently. They have already been through it twice before with older brothers Luke (Notre Dame) and Tyler (UNC).

His decision will have an impact on the Indiana’s record and roster for years to come. Meanwhile in the short-term, Coach Tom Crean needs something to build from after having to build a team from nothing.