Cody Zeller’s NBA stock on the rise per ESPN’s Chad Ford

  • 12/13/2011 2:25 pm in

ESPN College Basketball Nation: Cody Zeller shoots up draft boards

Alas, after four weeks, Zeller has already become a star — leading the Hoosiers to a 9-0 record and the biggest victory of the Tom Crean era over then-No. 1 Kentucky Saturday. This has required a slight recalibration among fans: Maybe the Hoosiers are already really good! Maybe we don’t need to wait! That sort of thing.

It seems NBA scouts and general managers have undergone a similar consideration. When you play as well as Zeller has, and you are also nearly 7-feet tall with impressive post polish, balance and ball skills, you are going to draw the attention of the next level. According to Chad Ford’s latest 2012 draft big board, that’s exactly what Zeller has done. Ford ranks Zeller No. 12 in his latest rankings — sandwiched between Kentucky prospects Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (No. 11) and Terrence Jones (No. 13), and two spots ahead of Florida Gators man-child Patric Young (No. 14). Zeller is also five spots ahead of older brother Tyler (No. 17), which we can only hope leads to some brotherly rough-housing during the unwrapping of Christmas presents. (I would probably pay to watch the three Zellers, including eldest brother Luke, play a driveway game of 21.)

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