I'll use the space between games to honor our senior class this week.
Luke Zeller came into ND as one of the most heralded recruits in recent history. A four star recruit, Zeller made news by winning the Indiana state championship for Washington High School with a halfcourt three pointer at the buzzer. He won Indiana's Mr. Basketball award (over this guy) and demonstrated a killer three point shot to go with a big body.
Unfortunately, Luke never developed into the big man we really needed. His perimeter game remained solid, but he became known as a small forward in a center's body. Averaging 16.0 minutes a game in his senior season (the highest average of his career), Zeller has scored 5.5 points and grabbed 3.3 rebounds per contest so far this year. However, his shooting percentages have dropped and his sophomore year (in which he averaged just 12.4 minutes per game) will remain his most efficient.
Even with his struggles to develop into a star at the collegiate level, Zeller remains a hard worker and good teammate. His solid post defense undoubtedly helped junior Luke Harangody develop his game against taller opponents. In the end, Zeller's biggest contribution to Notre Dame may be landing more athletic brother Cody as an ND recruit. The still-undecided Cody Zeller graduates high school in 2011.
Thanks for your hard work, Luke. Though better development was expected on both sides, you never stopped working for your alma mater. Good luck in the future.
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6 comments:
Good riddance.
That is a terrible thing to say. This young man has worked his ass off on and off the court for 4 years. He represents himself and the University well. Bryan you need to grow up.
Hey, I'm as upset as anyone with Luke's failure to become a dominant college player. However, he certainly has worked his ass off and been a good sport about the whole thing throughout.
None of these guys make any money playing basketball for us (except a free Notre Dame diploma which is admittedly a really good deal) and no one on the roster has done anything but represent the school with class. They deserve your gratitude regardless of their performance on the basketball court.
With a price tag of around $200,000 for four years I would say thats a lot of money. Ask Luke's parents?
Did you ever wonder how Brey landed a McDonalds All American? Now we know!
I feel bad for Luke. He was never developed by the staff to be a big-time player. No one ever sat him down and explained to him what he had to do to become a player.
What Mike Brey did to Luke against St. John's is inexcusable. Getting him back in the game with less than 2 minutes to go on Senior night in front of his family was unbelievably poor judgement. Forget about Cody coming to South Bend. Thamks Luke for being the bigger man than your coach. Good luck to you and congratulations on your terrific GPA and the success that you and your class brought to ND basketball over the past 4 years.
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