Yet another time, IU sophomore center Cody Zeller was named the 2012-13 Preseason Player of the Year, this time by CBS, on Tuesday.
CBS also ranked senior forward Christian Watford (No. 38) and junior forward Victor Oladipo (No. 84) in the top 100 NCAA men's basketball players in the country, and arguably the most hyped freshman in this year's incoming class, guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell, was named to the All-Freshman second team.
As was expected coming into this school year, Zeller, as well as the Hoosiers, have been the talk of the town as far as NCAA basketball has been concerned. Not too long after the Wildcats from Kentucky cut down the nets in New Orleans last April, college basketball writers have been penning in Zeller as the next season's No. 1 player and quite possibly the top draft pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
Last week, the Sporting News named Zeller it's Preseason Player of the Year, and the Hoosiers held the No. 1 spot in the top 25 teams in the country.
Last Thursday at the team's Media Mania, Zeller, along with his teammates, expressed their excitement on the Hoosiers' rankings as well as Zeller's accolades. Several players said that this preseason has been a lot more fun than years' past because of all the hype around the team.
None appeared to be feeling too much pressure coming into this season, even with the target of a No. 1 ranking on their backs, but fans will have to wait until the team's first real tests against Georgetown/UCLA and North Carolina, both in late November, to see how IU holds up to the hype.
