Zeller Heading to NBA after Skipping Draft Last Year

Indiana big man Cody Zeller shocked everyone by skipping the NBA draft last year to make Indiana the favorite to win the title. However, he has now joined teammate Victor Oladipo, Kansas’ Ben McLemore, and Louisville’s Russ Smith in the exodus of underclassman headed to the NBA. Very few players play all the way to their senior year and then make the NBA–if they are good enough they go early. In fact, no senior is expected to go in the first 12 picks on June 27 (see list of the 35 underclassmen expected to be in the draft and be selected below).

Too often a player who sticks around for an extra year gives up millions of dollars, such as Jared Sullinger who hurt his back at Ohio State last year and went from lottery pick to later in the first round.

Zeller, a seven footer, is a skilled big man who may lack the physical presence to be a dominant big man in the NBA at this stage. Nevertheless, his talent will land him as a lottery selection.

The Hoosier averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game over the course of his career. He was also a second team All-American selection and was an integral part of Indiana’s success the past two years. The list below is based on the listings on www.draftexpress.com.

Proj	Underclassmen	Year	School
1	Nerlens Noel C	Freshman	Kentucky
2	Ben McLemore SG	Freshman	Kansas
3	Marcus Smart PG	Freshman	Oklahoma State
4	Anthony Bennett PF	Freshman	UNLV
5	Victor Oladipo SG/SF	Junior	Indiana
6	Cody Zeller C	Sophomore	Indiana
7	Trey Burke PG	Sophomore	Michigan
8	Otto Porter SF	Sophomore	Georgetown
9	Shabazz Muhammad SF	Freshman	UCLA
11	Alex Len C	Sophomore	Maryland
12	Michael Carter-Williams PG	Sophomore	Syracuse
14	Kelly Olynyk C	Junior	Gonzaga
15	Isaiah Austin C	Freshman	Baylor
17	Gorgui Dieng C	Junior	Louisville
18	Archie Goodwin SG	Freshman	Kentucky
19	James McAdoo PF	Sophomore	North Carolina
20	Steven Adams C	Freshman	Pittsburgh
22	Jamaal Franklin SG	Junior	San Diego State
23	Tony Mitchell PF	Sophomore	North Texas
27	Shane Larkin PG	Sophomore	Miami FL
28	Lorenzo Brown PG	Junior	N.C. State
29	B.J. Young SG	Sophomore	Arkansas
30	Allen Crabbe SG	Junior	California
32	Reggie Bullock SF	Junior	North Carolina
34	Russ Smith PG	Junior	Louisville
35	C.J. Leslie SF/PF	Junior	N.C. State
36	Adreian Payne PF/C	Junior	Michigan State
38	Doug McDermott PF	Junior	Creighton
39	LeBryan Nash SF	Sophomore	Oklahoma State
40	Myck Kabongo PG	Sophomore	Texas
44	C.J. Wilcox SG	Junior	Washington
46	Phil Pressey PG	Junior	Missouri
49	Deshaun Thomas SF/PF	Junior	Ohio State
51	Tim Hardaway Jr SG	Junior	Michigan
59	Tony Snell SF	Junior	New Mexico