“The hard thing is crossing [schools] off,” Washington junior PF Luke Zeller said last week. “You have to cross one off at a time. You have to narrow it down and then pick one.”
At the time we spoke last week with the 6-11 Zeller he had 14 schools on his list. A day later he issued a release detailing his final five. The group included -- released in alphabetical order – Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Notre Dame and Stanford.
Zeller said that he would like to take a few visits but overall that he would take his time in making a selection. His criteria for evaluating the schools wasn’t much different than your typical high schooler.
“I like the tradition and the prestige of a school. When it’s got that much heritage you know it’ll have a good program. Nobody at that level settles for less than the best. Then, the type of players and coaches they have. It either feels right or it feels wrong. I think overall one of them will feel right.”
With the traveling team cycle getting ready to swing into high gear, one might think Zeller will be out for observation every weekend. Well, that’s not the case. Big Luke prefers the individual workout route rather than the sometimes mind numbing amount of AAU games.
“I get more out of individual workouts. I’m going to hit the workout room pretty hard.” Sure, but won’t he miss the action of a good old fashioned AAU throw down? “Yes and no. Right now I’ve got some shin splits I’m nursing. I’m not going to miss it in that effect. Playing 7 games in a day was a lot of fun but I like the individual workouts better.”
Zeller understands that there are some areas where individual workouts can really improve his game. “The lifting weights is a big one. I’ve got to get stronger. I need to get quicker and move better. It’ll be a faster pace in college. Basically all the facets of my game [could be improved]. For a week I’ll focus on one point here and one there. One week I’ll shoot a lot and the next I’ll do a lot of agility drills.”
Zeller will attend the Nike All-American Camp in July.