Q & A: Etherington talks official visit, Zeller decision

  • 11/04/2010 9:08 pm in

2011 commit Austin Etherington took his official visit to Bloomington this past weekend with his friend and Hoosier target Cody Zeller. Inside the Hall caught up with the Hamilton Heights senior on Thursday evening for a weekend recap, his reaction to the recent commitment of Hanner Perea and his thoughts on the upcoming decision for Zeller:

On the official visit and how it was different from previous visits:

The visit went good being with my family, the coaches and the Zeller family. It was just good to get that bonding and being with Cody because I haven’t been with him for a while. We had a good time. The only thing that was different was that we stayed the night there. That was pretty much the only difference.”

On his reaction to the ovation he and Zeller received when they walked into Assembly Hall and the size of the crowd:

“I was really surprised about that (the size of the crowd), seeing that many people there for something like a scrimmage. When we walked in I figured the fans would do something about Cody being in there, but then when they all stood up like that, it was a great feeling. I could only imagine what it will feel like when there’s 17,000 people there doing that. I think it made Cody feel good. It was just something really cool. I wasn’t really expecting it to be like that.”

On his reaction to the Perea commitment on Sunday:

“I hadn’t heard that he was thinking about it. I just knew that he was down to two schools. I always felt good about Hanner. Just being around him all the time, he’s always been around Bloomington and I know he feels like it’s home. It was really good news to hear.”

On the effect of the Perea commitment on the 2012 recruiting class:

“Hanner helps huge with other guys that IU is looking at. That was just the key commit that made other players know that IU is for real and that IU is going in the right direction.”

On why he’s taken on the role of recruiting his friends to IU:

“I just do as much as I can for my sake because I want to have the best four years that I can. I want to play with guys that I know and talking to guys and becoming good friends with them just helps with them deciding on a school and knowing someone at that school. That’s a big key in their decision making.”

On what advice, if any, he gave Zeller about his decision over the weekend:

“I don’t say much to Cody. I just tell him to make a decision that’s best for him and no matter what his decision is, he’ll still be one of my good friends. But I’d really like for him to come play with me and I know we’d have a good four years together.”

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