Cody Zeller is used to sticking out like a sore thumb.
At Friday afternoon's "Traditions and Spirits" show at Assembly Hall, Zeller again stood out like a sore thumb amongst his freshman class. Countless cell phone pictures were taken with the 6-foot-11 forward, hands were shaken and even a few autographs were signed before he addressed his fellow freshmen.
Zeller said this kind of treatment is something he has learned to adjust to.
"I'm used to it just from high school, walking around Washington," Zeller said. "Everyone would kind of recognize me and say hi so I'm used to it. I just take it as a compliment."
The raucous freshman crowd went even crazier for Zeller when he joined IU coach Tom Crean on the Assembly Hall floor. Zeller simply gave a shout out to his dorm, Briscoe, and let Crean do most of the talking.
Now the freshman class can put a name to the 6-foot-11 kid they see walking down Fee Lane. According to Zeller, this wasn't always the case around campus.
"When I was here for freshman orientation, not too many of the kids knew who I was," Zeller said. "It was kind of fun just being a normal student. But I could kind of tell when they were around their dads, then their dad's starting asking who I was. I just try to have fun with it. That's all you can do."
Unlike the rest of the freshman class, Zeller was in Bloomington for the summer. The McDonald's All-American admitted that Bloomington isn't quite the same when it's chalked full of students.
"I was here for the summer so I know my way around but it's completely different having people here during the year," Zeller said. "But I loved it during the summer and I think I'm going to love it when the year starts."
In addition to adjusting to the IU campus, Zeller said his main focus this summer was to keep bulking up his frame which was a bit of a challenge for him.
"It's difficult because I'm always working out whether it's lifting or playing so I sweat a lot of it off," Zeller said. "That's one of the biggest things I need to work on is gaining weight and strength."
With the season opener two and a half months away, Zeller said the season couldn't come soon enough.
"I'm definitely excited about it," Zeller said. "I'm sure once conditioning starts I'll be even more ready for the games to start"
