In case you haven't noticed, this Cody Zeller guy is pretty good.
The IU freshman had another stellar game yesterday, dropping 21 points and picking up eight rebounds to lead the Hoosiers to a 69-58 win against Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The reality is that these types of games have already become the usual for a freshman. Yes, Zeller came in as Tom Crean's most hyped recruit yet but Zeller has already exceeded experts expectations. He has worked his way up to No. 12 on Chad Ford's Top 100 NBA Draft Big Board on ESPN.com---that's one spot ahead of preseason All-Everything sophomore Terrence Jones.
Not to crown a kid that has only played ten games of college basketball, but here are some cold, hard facts about Zeller's start that are difficult to ignore.
-Zeller leads IU in scoring at 15.6 points per game
-Zeller has attempted 10 more free-throws than IU's No. 2 player in free-throw attempts
-Zeller has accounted for 43 percent of IU's blocks this season
-Zeller is averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per 40 minutes
-Zeller has seven more steals than Victor Oladipo
-Zeller has a steal in all but one game
-Zeller has only attempted double-digit field goals in three games
-The most points scored by an opposing post-player against Zeller was 12 by Notre Dame's Jack Cooley
-Only two opposing players have totaled double-digit rebounds in a game this season
-Zeller has more steals (23) than turnovers (16)
-Cody Zeller leads IU in +/- at +19.6 per game
-Zeller is ranked 7th nationally in average plus/minus
-According to Crean, Zeller leads IU in deflections averaging 10.5 per game
-Zeller has more steals than anyone 6-foot-9 and above in the country
