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ccgeneral

Cody Zeller - Atlanta Hawks

By ccgeneral, in Hoosiers in the Pros

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OliviaPope40    6,423

OliviaPope40
Posted

I have a ton of free time. It surprises most people. It's both good and bad. On practice days, we practice in the morning, lift weights, practice for an hour or two, shoot around, and then I'll be home by 2 or 3 p.m. and be done for the day. It's a nice schedule.

The toughest part for me has been moving to a new city. I'm from a small town (Washington, Ind.) so I wasn't about living in a huge city, so Charlotte was just right. I've never lived in a city, so things are pretty different. I'm not around that much so it's hard to go out and meet new people. In college, I was surrounded by literally thousands of kids my age. But in my apartment building it's all businessmen and stuff, not exactly a bunch of guys I want to hang out with.

I miss Indiana. I miss being on campus and hanging with all my college buddies. I left after two years, so all my classmates are still back at school. It's not like being a normal student where you graduate with all of your friends.

When you're in the NBA, everyone wants to be your friend. Right now, it's pretty tough to figure out who has the right intentions. When you meet people through mutual friends or church, that's one thing, but this is different.

I've probably seen Michael Jordan 3-4 times since being drafted. He was at our training camp all week before the season. It's funny because when he's around us he acts like one of the players. He's talking about the game and whatever. It was fun at camp because he was staying in our hotel with us. It was crazy to watch all the stuff you have to do because you're Michael Jordan. He can't go to a restaurant and eat. He has to have someone go pick it up and bring it back to the hotel. He was locked in his room a lot of the time and couldn't go to dinner with the rest of us.

In the NBA you go against the best players in the world ... every night. Even in college you'd play some good players once week and some not-so-good players the next, but here you face the best 3-4 times a week. If you play bad one night, you have Kevin Garnett the next night.

I haven't faced too much trash talking on the floor. As a rookie, it comes with the territory. Everyone is going to try and test you out. A lot of opponents know I'm new to the game and know that I don't know all the tricks yet. I get a lot of isolations and clear outs.

I don't mind it too much. The veterans have been helping me out since training camp, and I'm prepared every night. I've had a few months of trying to get adjusted. Obviously, they've gotten me a few times, but I think I'm doing okay.

I haven't really had a "Welcome to the NBA" moment. The way it's setup, you kind of ease into the season. In summer league, you play teams that have 3-4 really good guys. In preseason, you get a taste of what it's like -- and then the regular season gets going, and you get it all. It's not like you go from playing nobody to the best of the best.

The coolest thing I've done so far is play at Madison Square Garden. The first time was pretty awesome. Playing against the Knicks and against Carmelo Anthony, it was probably the first time where I took a step back and said, 'Whoa, this is pretty cool.'

It's crazy playing against guys you watched growing up. I played LeBron James in my second game of the preseason. Played KG a couple of nights ago, played the Bulls before that. Going to all of these different arenas and facing all these players I've watched on TV has been pretty surreal.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20131127/cody-zeller-charlotte-bobcats-nba-rookie-diary/#ixzz2ls0eMm8m

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CR3AMnCR1MS0N    1,867

CR3AMnCR1MS0N
Posted

I miss Indiana. I miss being on campus and hanging with all my college buddies. I left after two years, so all my classmates are still back at school. It's not like being a normal student where you graduate with all of your friends.

 

MAN!!! YOU COULDA HAD 2 MORE YEARS!!!

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OliviaPope40    6,423

OliviaPope40
Posted

Do my eyes deceive me or am I seeing what I think I'm seeing.

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JSHoosier    19,811

JSHoosier
Posted

If you saw a travel, then no you're eyes aren't deceiving you.

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OliviaPope40    6,423

OliviaPope40
Posted

I’ve grown up playing basketball against my older brothers. Tyler and I played each other more times than I can remember. But this time we were wearing NBA jerseys.  It was literally my eighth professional game. We were playing the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Tyler is in his second season. We played similar minutes and guarded each other most of the time. It was weird. We’re both competitive and we played hard but it’s not like we were going to start a fight out there. For us, it was just Game 8 of 82. It’s just not often that the guy you’re guarding grew up in your house.

At one point, Coach (Steve Clifford) called a timeout and drew up a play. Somewhere between the huddle break and the whistle I must have forgot and messed the whole thing up. Coach called another timeout just to yell at me. When we walked out to the floor again I asked Tyler, “Could you tell I messed that play up?” It was little things like that they made it fun.

The referees had fun with it too. After one timeout, a ref asked if Tyler and I had went to dinner the night before. We did. Our parents were in town so we all went out. When the check came I put in a little something and Tyler paid the rest. When the ref asked during the game about who paid the bill, I told him we split it.

“How are you going to let the rookie, your little brother come to your city and pay for half of the bill?” the ref yelled to Tyler. We all got a laugh out of that.

Having my brothers—my oldest brother Luke played for the Phoenix Suns last season—has been great in helping with my transition into the NBA, especially mentally. It’s a long rookie year just because there’s so much to learn. They reminded me that you’re going to have some good games and some bad but there’s always another game right around the corner. The other adjustment is getting acclimated to a new life.

I grew up in Washington, IN and played two years at Indiana before being drafted by Charlotte. Now I’m living alone in an apartment not far from Time Warner Cable Arena. Moving to a new city is like moving away to college again. Except this time I’m not surrounded by thousands of kids my age. It’s tougher to age and I’ve been traveling, so it’s tough to get out and meet know people and make new friends. Plus, you want to make the right friends.

I’ve never really lived outside of Indiana. Everything is new. But my coaches have been great and my family have helped me stayed focused. It takes time when you’re moving to a new city. But I’m enjoying it.

 as told to Christopher Hunt

http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/sports/nba-rookie-blog-cody-zeller

Blog post on Cody in Men's Fitness.

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