By now, I’m sure you have heard -- Cody Zeller has committed to Indiana.
Its a big get for Tom Crean. The Indiana head coach has slowly but surely been luring the best from the Hoosier state to Bloomington, but Zeller was the prize. The consensus No. 15 recruit in the country according to our rankings, Zeller is a mobile and skilled 6'11" center that will more resemble older brother Tyler than oldest brother Luke.
Essentially, what I am saying is that Zeller, as a player, will be a good player for the Hoosiers. In that sense, he is an important pick-up.
But Zeller’s commitment is so much more important to Crean than just his potential on the court. He’s a local star that’s being kept, well, local. He’s another example of the IU head coach being able to get the cream of the Indiana basketball crop.
A word of caution all the Indiana fans out there celebrating right now -- Zeller is not a program changer. His impact will likely be closer to BJ Mullens’ than Michael Beasley’s as a freshman. That’s not to say he won’t be a good player -- I’d be surprised if he didn’t end up, at the very least, somewhere on a couple of all-Big Ten teams in his career.
The reason that landing Zeller is so important for Crean is that, right now, there are Indiana fans out there celebrating right now. The cretins of the message boards aren’t questioning why the Hoosiers, in year three of the Crean era, aren’t competing for Big Ten titles. They are talking about the great work that Crean has done, and is currently doing, on the recruiting trail.
This commitment is a pressure release.
Its a chance for Crean to say this program is heading somewhere.
It allows him to prove that the future is bright for the Hoosiers with him as their head coach.
And that is exactly what he needed.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.