Post by zellerball on Oct 5, 2009 17:36:03 GMT -5
Tyler Zeller's offseason had everyone talking.
Or, more correctly, it had everyone tweeting.
The Tar Heel big man was a regular in the summer pickup games attended by a collection of Carolina alums. After several of those games, Zeller's performance drew raves via Sean May's Twitter feed. It used to be that it took months for offseason feedback to trickle out to fans; now, it reaches them before the players even get to the parking lot.
"I actually didn't find out Sean was saying that stuff until two or three days later," Zeller said. "Big May and I go back and forth all the time. He'll get mad at me, because I make the same move over and over and he can't stop it."
If that's the case, Tar Heel fans hope there are plenty of disgruntled tweets from ACC opponents this season. Zeller went through perhaps the most up and down freshman campaign in Carolina history, starting his first game, suffering what was thought to be a season-ending broken wrist against Kentucky, and then working his way back ahead of schedule to play in the season's final 13 games.
By the time he returned to action on Feb. 18 against NC State, Ed Davis had emerged and the post rotation was essentially set.
"It was really challenging," Zeller said. "For the most part, I focused on practice and working against Tyler (Hansbrough), Deon (Thompson) and Ed. They needed a big body to compete against, because down the road we might run into someone like Blake Griffin."
The Tar Heels did eventually run into Griffin, dispatching the player of the year's Oklahoma squad in the regional final. Zeller scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in that game despite never feeling fully comfortable on the court.
"When I first came back, I felt like I was always half a second late," Zeller said. "It's not something you can correct by just doing something differently. You have to do it over and over again until you get the feel you're looking for. You have to be leaning the right way before it happens. I was seeing it happen and then I would try to get there, and that doesn't work at this level."
That's the kind of cerebral understanding of the game you'd expect from a player who made the ACC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman. He was equally studious during his time on the bench, when he tried to pick up some of the smaller details of the game--where open spots on the floor might be, when a teammate should give help on defense--that he would have missed in the middle of game action.
He spent the summer correcting some of the more physical details that didn't benefit from an extended layoff. Zeller has gained 30 pounds of muscle since arriving in Chapel Hill in the summer of 2008, and he's corrected a hitch at the top of his shot that contributed to a freshman shooting percentage of 47.2%.
He also spent time on his footwork and athleticism, although his ability to run the court was one of the first factors that attracted Roy Williams during the recruiting process. Zeller's long strides make him the perfect finisher in the Williams tempo. Watching the Indiana native sprint the length of the court, it's hard to imagine he used to despise running drills.
"I have to credit my AAU coach, J.C. Hall, in 6th or 7th grade," Zeller said. "I used to be terrified to go to practice because he made us do a lot of running drills. I hated them at the time. But on the court, he was always after me, and I give him all the credit for my ability to run. He'd always say, `Even if you don't think you have a chance, get down the court and you might find something.'"
These days, getting down the court in transition most often leads to a Zeller one-handed dunk on a pass from a Tar Heel guard. That's the kind of play that impressed the Carolina veterans during the summer...even though it once opened an All-Star gash.
During a pickup game the weekend of the professional alumni game, an errant Zeller knuckle opened a cut above Vince Carter's eye.
"You just busted open a guy worth $50 million," a perhaps fiscally conservative Deon Thompson told Zeller.
Carter had no hard feelings, which enabled Zeller to laugh off the collision...while enabling his teammates to have something else to tweet about
Or, more correctly, it had everyone tweeting.
The Tar Heel big man was a regular in the summer pickup games attended by a collection of Carolina alums. After several of those games, Zeller's performance drew raves via Sean May's Twitter feed. It used to be that it took months for offseason feedback to trickle out to fans; now, it reaches them before the players even get to the parking lot.
"I actually didn't find out Sean was saying that stuff until two or three days later," Zeller said. "Big May and I go back and forth all the time. He'll get mad at me, because I make the same move over and over and he can't stop it."
If that's the case, Tar Heel fans hope there are plenty of disgruntled tweets from ACC opponents this season. Zeller went through perhaps the most up and down freshman campaign in Carolina history, starting his first game, suffering what was thought to be a season-ending broken wrist against Kentucky, and then working his way back ahead of schedule to play in the season's final 13 games.
By the time he returned to action on Feb. 18 against NC State, Ed Davis had emerged and the post rotation was essentially set.
"It was really challenging," Zeller said. "For the most part, I focused on practice and working against Tyler (Hansbrough), Deon (Thompson) and Ed. They needed a big body to compete against, because down the road we might run into someone like Blake Griffin."
The Tar Heels did eventually run into Griffin, dispatching the player of the year's Oklahoma squad in the regional final. Zeller scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in that game despite never feeling fully comfortable on the court.
"When I first came back, I felt like I was always half a second late," Zeller said. "It's not something you can correct by just doing something differently. You have to do it over and over again until you get the feel you're looking for. You have to be leaning the right way before it happens. I was seeing it happen and then I would try to get there, and that doesn't work at this level."
That's the kind of cerebral understanding of the game you'd expect from a player who made the ACC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman. He was equally studious during his time on the bench, when he tried to pick up some of the smaller details of the game--where open spots on the floor might be, when a teammate should give help on defense--that he would have missed in the middle of game action.
He spent the summer correcting some of the more physical details that didn't benefit from an extended layoff. Zeller has gained 30 pounds of muscle since arriving in Chapel Hill in the summer of 2008, and he's corrected a hitch at the top of his shot that contributed to a freshman shooting percentage of 47.2%.
He also spent time on his footwork and athleticism, although his ability to run the court was one of the first factors that attracted Roy Williams during the recruiting process. Zeller's long strides make him the perfect finisher in the Williams tempo. Watching the Indiana native sprint the length of the court, it's hard to imagine he used to despise running drills.
"I have to credit my AAU coach, J.C. Hall, in 6th or 7th grade," Zeller said. "I used to be terrified to go to practice because he made us do a lot of running drills. I hated them at the time. But on the court, he was always after me, and I give him all the credit for my ability to run. He'd always say, `Even if you don't think you have a chance, get down the court and you might find something.'"
These days, getting down the court in transition most often leads to a Zeller one-handed dunk on a pass from a Tar Heel guard. That's the kind of play that impressed the Carolina veterans during the summer...even though it once opened an All-Star gash.
During a pickup game the weekend of the professional alumni game, an errant Zeller knuckle opened a cut above Vince Carter's eye.
"You just busted open a guy worth $50 million," a perhaps fiscally conservative Deon Thompson told Zeller.
Carter had no hard feelings, which enabled Zeller to laugh off the collision...while enabling his teammates to have something else to tweet about