Nick Zeisloft - Iberostar Tenerife (Spanish Liga ACB)

[ccgeneral 38,084]

Per @jakequery: He's hearing Z3 signed a 1 year, partially guaranteed deal with the Pacers.

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Fort Wayne Mad Ants Twitter

Z3 Twitter

[Brass Cannon 24,613]

Heck Yeah great to hear. 

[Stuhoo 80,430]

That is freakin' awesome.

[HoosierAloha 30,067]

Didn't see that coming but that's freaking awesome!! Congrats Z3!!

[Hovadipo 55,719]

No way. So cool. Still playing For Indiana.


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[Stuhoo 80,430]

 

Him and Yogi are both gonna be coaches someday.

 

[southsidehoosier 5,002]

Wow impressive


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[Crimson and Cream 5,791]

He'll be in the D-League but that's awesome nonetheless, definitely didn't expect that

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,226]

Wow! Awesome for Nick and IU.


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[FortWayneHoosier 6,103]

That's nuts! Congrats nick


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[OliviaPope40 6,499]

Way to go Z.

[Miller'sTheMan 1,652]

Hopefully he can develop a little bit with the Mad Ants and latch on.

[ccgeneral 38,084]

http://www.vigilantsports.com/2016/09/08/nick-zeisloft-signs-training-camp-deal-with-the-pacers/

Written on September 8, 2016 by Scott Agness.

Nick Zeisloft has signed a training camp deal to join the Indiana Pacers, the team announced Thursday.
The Indiana University product inked a one-year, rookie minimum-level deal with the team on Tuesday with $25,000 guaranteed, league sources told VigilantSports.com.

Zeisloft was not one of the 42 players the Pacers brought in for a pre-draft workout in June, and he did not compete in any of the three NBA-sanctioned Summer Leagues.

[Pacers reach agreement with Kevin Seraphin on two-year deal]

With the additions of Seraphin and Zeisloft, the Pacers have 19 players under contract, including 16 with guaranteed deals. They can have a maximum of 20 players in camp, which begins on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Then, they must trim their roster to 15 by opening night (Oct. 26).

[Pacers sign Alex Poythress, Julyan Stone]

By signing Zeisloft (and others with only a small guarantee), the Pacers retain their rights for D-League purposes and they would join their affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Zeisloft spent the first two seasons of his collegitate career at Illinois State (2011-14). Using the gradate transfer rule, which allows a player who has earned his degree in three years — he redshirted his freshman season — to transfer to another school without being required to sit out, Zeisloft spent his final two seasons in Bloomington.

Last season at IU, Zeisloft averaged 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game, and shot 41.7 percent (65 for 156) from long distance.

[Trish 11,542]

Nicky has signed with the Pacers in hopes to earn a roster spot. The pacers are currently 19 deep for their training camp in a couple of weeks, the final roster has to be cut down to 15.

 

Nick worked out for the Mavericks earlier this summer and did not participate in the summer league. 

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/pacers-nick-zeisloft-gets-camp-invite-from-pacers/

[bleedhoosier 3,627]

So pumped for Nick! Did not see this coming. I'm assuming he must at least be showing up as a useful tool

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[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,515]

http://www.vigilantsports.com/2016/10/04/nick-zeisloft-discusses-his-opportunity-with-the-pacers/

Former Indiana University guard Nick Zeisloft signed his first NBA contract on Sept. 6, 2016. He didn’t receive an invitation to play for an NBA team during Summer League action in July, but the Pacers later asked him to join them for a week of workouts at the end of August.

The 23-year-old from La Grange, Illinois ended up signing a one-year deal for the league minimum ($543,471), of which only $25,000 is guaranteed, per league sources. Ultimately, this is a deal for the Pacers to own the rights to Zeisloft when it comes time for the Developmental League. The Pacers own the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and that’s where Zeisloft, along with Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress, will end up.

The 6-4, 210-pound guard, wearing No. 15, will suit up in the Pacers’ first of six preseason games Tuesday in New Orleans.

Here’s a brief Q&A with Zeisloft on joining the Pacers and what he’s trying to prove to scouts and team officials.

How did the opportunity to join the Pacers come about?

I came in to workout for a week or so at the end of August. I just thought it was going to be a week of workouts and open gym and playing with the team. And then they invited me back for another week, liked what I was doing, and decided to sign me to a contract the next week. It all fell into a place how I never expected it to, and it worked out well.

Were you under the impression that the workout was a tryout, or that they were simply needing an extra body?

Any time someone has you in, I guess it’s kind of like they are checking out what you can do. It just felt like workouts and open gyms, and it was all a lot of fun how it all came about.

We didn’t see in any of the three NBA Summer Leagues. So, how did you spend your summer?

Yeah, I wasn’t invited into summer league. I was working out on my own a lot and getting better on my own a lot back in the Grange, sometimes in Bloomington. I was all over.

What are you trying to show the decision makers for a chance at making it in the NBA?

I’ll have to play with the ball more some, just because of my size in the NBA. Ball skills. Working on everything. Defending on this level is tough and so just improving in that way, too. Just a lot of things. It all matters.

I’ve been told to expect to see Christian Watford join the Mad Ants this upcoming season. What will that be like for you — two IU guys?

I didn’t know that. That would be a lot of fun. Christian is a great player. Never got to play with him because our paths didn’t cross at IU. He’s a great guy, hard worker, and I’ve talked to him several times and like being around him off the court. He’s a great dude to play with.

 

[Crimson and Cream 5,791]

4 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

http://www.vigilantsports.com/2016/10/04/nick-zeisloft-discusses-his-opportunity-with-the-pacers/

Former Indiana University guard Nick Zeisloft signed his first NBA contract on Sept. 6, 2016. He didn’t receive an invitation to play for an NBA team during Summer League action in July, but the Pacers later asked him to join them for a week of workouts at the end of August.

The 23-year-old from La Grange, Illinois ended up signing a one-year deal for the league minimum ($543,471), of which only $25,000 is guaranteed, per league sources. Ultimately, this is a deal for the Pacers to own the rights to Zeisloft when it comes time for the Developmental League. The Pacers own the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and that’s where Zeisloft, along with Julyan Stone and Alex Poythress, will end up.

The 6-4, 210-pound guard, wearing No. 15, will suit up in the Pacers’ first of six preseason games Tuesday in New Orleans.

Here’s a brief Q&A with Zeisloft on joining the Pacers and what he’s trying to prove to scouts and team officials.

How did the opportunity to join the Pacers come about?

I came in to workout for a week or so at the end of August. I just thought it was going to be a week of workouts and open gym and playing with the team. And then they invited me back for another week, liked what I was doing, and decided to sign me to a contract the next week. It all fell into a place how I never expected it to, and it worked out well.

Were you under the impression that the workout was a tryout, or that they were simply needing an extra body?

Any time someone has you in, I guess it’s kind of like they are checking out what you can do. It just felt like workouts and open gyms, and it was all a lot of fun how it all came about.

We didn’t see in any of the three NBA Summer Leagues. So, how did you spend your summer?

Yeah, I wasn’t invited into summer league. I was working out on my own a lot and getting better on my own a lot back in the Grange, sometimes in Bloomington. I was all over.

What are you trying to show the decision makers for a chance at making it in the NBA?

I’ll have to play with the ball more some, just because of my size in the NBA. Ball skills. Working on everything. Defending on this level is tough and so just improving in that way, too. Just a lot of things. It all matters.

I’ve been told to expect to see Christian Watford join the Mad Ants this upcoming season. What will that be like for you — two IU guys?

I didn’t know that. That would be a lot of fun. Christian is a great player. Never got to play with him because our paths didn’t cross at IU. He’s a great guy, hard worker, and I’ve talked to him several times and like being around him off the court. He’s a great dude to play with.

 

Nice to have an IU guy to root for on the Pacers for once, even if it's in the D-League

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,515]

From IU role player to NBA training camp: Why Nick Zeisloft is a Pacer

Indpls. Star - Jim Ayello - October 11, 2016

 

INDIANAPOLIS — From the moment he left Bloomington until just a few weeks ago, the NBA had but one message for Nick Zeisloft: We don't want you.

The former IU sharpshooter who averaged 6.5 points per game in his final year as a Hoosier participated in just one pre-draft workout, went undrafted in June, then failed to receive an invite to play in the NBA Summer League.

If he was going to continue to his basketball career, it would have to be overseas.

Maybe Europe, he thought. Or Asia. Or Australia. Wherever. Doesn't matter. As long as he has a basketball in his hands.

But then, seemingly out of the blue, things changed. The NBA suddenly wanted him. Well, sort of.

Zeisloft's agent called him in early August and said the Pacers wanted him to play in some open gyms.

The Pacers? I'll be there, the ex-Hoosier said.

So to Bankers Life Fieldhouse he went, figuring Indiana just needed a few extra bodies. Run a few drills, he thought, scrimmage some, then figure out what comes next. After all, the Pacers had made no promises. This wasn’t a tryout, he knew.

Except it was. Or, rather, he turned it into one.

Turns out, Zeisloft caught the eye of one man capable of twisting his fate: Larry Bird.

“I got a call from Larry and (Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard),” said Steve Gansey, head coach of the Pacers Developmental League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. “They said, ‘Hey man, you need to get down here. You need to come see (Zeisloft).’ ”

And down to Indianapolis came Gansey, where he saw in the 6-4 combo guard the same overlooked prospect Bird and Pritchard saw.

He was aggressive, he was attacking the basket and, of course, he was doing what he does best: shooting the lights out.

“He came in and went at Monta Ellis; he went at Jeff Teague and those kinds of guys and didn’t back down,” Gansey said. “Larry and the rest of the front office saw that; they saw him making a lot of shots, and they (became) very interested in him.

"That’s (the reason) he’s here. That’s why he’s going to be with us."

From Hoosiers role player to Pacers training camp. Who'd have thought?

Certainly not Zeisloft.

"I really didn't expect anything from the NBA," he said. "Especially after how the pre-draft workouts went and then how things turned out with no summer league, either. But hey, I was prepared for the opportunity when I got one and made the most of it, I guess."

Now, instead of playing thousands of miles away in a foreign country, Zeisloft will play this season in Fort Wayne, little more than a three-hour drive from his hometown of LaGrange, Ill.

Zeisloft hasn't officially been handed his assignment to the Mad Ants, but the move is expected.

And Zeisloft will be glad to go. Excuse the cliche, but he truly is just happy to be where he is. Content? Absolutely not. He's determined to improve, but when asked if he'd begun to map out a plan for himself or set goals about when he'd reach the NBA, Zeisloft happily answered, "No."

"Not at all," he said. "Shoot, I didn’t even expect to have this. ... I’m just going keep going day by day and try to get better day by day. That's all."

So while he's with the Pacers, expect him to soak in as much of the NBA as he can.

He already has, actually. Though he's seen just one minute of preseason action, Zeisloft has allowed himself brief moments to marvel at the magnetic atmosphere of the NBA.

"There was a little bit of (nerves) when I was warming for that (first preseason) game," he said. "The last time I warmed up was the Sweet 16. Both big-time venues, little different stages, but this is the league. This is the highest you're going to get. ... It was a great feeling to get out there again and just warm up."

For the most part, though, he's simply focused on getting better every day in practice. He makes sure to be attentive, he said. He gets his work in, then absorbs as much as he can from his teammates.

He admires the court control of Paul George, the pace of Ellis, the versatility of C.J. Miles, the aggression of Rodney Stuckey.

There's something to be learned from everybody, he said. And when the move to Fort Wayne finally happens, his basketball education will continue.

Other than working on his defense and ballhandling — aspects of his game he must improve upon to have a basketball future, he said — one of the first things he'll learn from Gansey is this: It's not NBA or bust.

"In the D-League, we're trying to put guys in better basketball situations," Gansey said. "Whether that's with us in the D-League or over in Spain, where he might be able to sign for $400,000 or $500,000, it's not call-up or bust. There are a lot of good leagues overseas. What I tell our guys is to always strive to be in a better situation than you were the previous year."

From IU role player to NBA training camp, Zeisloft is already 1-for-1 in that regard.

[ccgeneral 38,084]

Waived by the Pacers. Probably heading to the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. 

‏@ScottAgness: Pacers have waived Alex Poythress and Nick Zeisloft ahead of their final preseason game on Wednesday.

Both are expected in Ft. Wayne.

[Miller'sTheMan 1,652]

8 minutes ago, ccgeneral said:

Waived by the Pacers. Probably heading to the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. 

‏@ScottAgness: Pacers have waived Alex Poythress and Nick Zeisloft ahead of their final preseason game on Wednesday.

Both are expected in Ft. Wayne.

I know there was an article from the Pacers about how Zeisloft was signed specifically for the Mad Ants, so it's probably already a done deal he ends up there. Same for Poythress. Lets hope they find success there! If Zeisloft is going to get an NBA opportunity it starts there.