Indiana was already the favorite to win the Big Ten heading into the 2012-2013 season. Not only that, the Hoosiers were also the No. 1 team in the country by almost every preseason prognosticator. Cody Zeller, their star sophomore center, was already a favorite for National Player of the Year.
And all that was before Cody Zeller went and got bigger this spring.
“He looked big,” former Indiana head coach and current ESPN commentator Dan Dakich told CBSSports.com. “I mean, big. You know how some guys, when you get around them, they’re not as big as you think? And then other guys, you get around them and you’re like, ‘Oh my god!’ I’ve never done this before -- never asked a kid how tall he is like I’m a fan in an airport. But I was like, ‘How tall are you? Have you grown?’”
And, according to Indiana’s current head coach Tom Crean, he has.
Which is a scary thought for college hoops fans.
Zeller was listed at 6-foot-11 and 230 pounds as a freshman, which is by no means a small human being. He averaged 16 points and six boards at the “smaller” size, which makes you wonder: just what is Zeller going to be capable of if he is, as Crean and Dakich indicate, bigger?
Did John Calipari know about Zeller’s increase in size when he decided he didn’t want any part of Assembly Hall?
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.