The Portland Trail Blazers put Indiana's Cody Zeller through a solo workout at the Tualatin practice facility on Friday afternoon.
The Blazers noted that owner Paul Allen was in attendance at the workout, which was the first solo workout in Tualatin so far this year. Allen previously attended a group workout that included Georgia guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Zeller said that he planned to eat dinner with Blazers management on Friday evening.
- Cody Zeller | Indiana | Sophomore | 7-foot | 230 pounds | PF/C | DX profile | No. 9 in top 100
Holds IU's record for career field goal percentage at .591. Scored 1,157 career points, ranking 36th all-time in school history. Selected Second Team AP All-American and First Team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. Consensus freshman All-American pick and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year as a rookie. Helped lead Indiana to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16's for the first time since 1994 and the program's first outright Big Ten regular season championship since 1993.
Video of Zeller's post-practice interview is available on Blazers.com. Here's a transcript with the major points of his interview.
How did workout go?
It went well. Just a quick 45 minutes or an hour of work. Just tried to show them what I can do.
It's tough to tell sometimes in games what you can do because I had so many talented players around me at Indiana. I just showed them a few different things I can improve on and show at the next level.
How did you shoot?
It went all right. It's definitely one of the things I want to show because I've been able to shoot my whole life, in high school, AAU. Growing up in Indiana, you always grow up shooting the basketball in the driveway. It's definitely one of the things I wanted to show.
How do you compare to your brothers?
We're fairly similar. Luke is definitely the best shooter out of us three. Tyler is more back to the basket. I'm probably the most athletic. We all have a lot of similarities.
Natural position?
Probably more of a four because guys in the NBA are so big. I can use the mid-post, use my quickness and athleticism to my advantage. Also play a little bit of five because that's what I've been doing my whole life.
Misconceptions about your game?
The media and GMs have different impressions just because, no offense to you guys, the GMs, that's what they get paid to do. That's all I'm worried about because they're the ones who are making the decisions.
How well do you know the Blazers' roster?
I'm a big fan of LaMarcus Aldridge's game. I played against Meyers Leonard in college. Damian Lillard won Rookie of the Year. [Nicolas] Batum, [Wesley] Matthews, J.J. Hickson, all those guys. I know a lot about the team and Portland seems like a good fit for me.
Being compared to LaMarcus Aldridge
I like his game. I'm obviously not to his level by any means, headed in that direction with how good he is in the mid-post, he's an underrated passer, I have a lot of respect for his game.
More scouting details from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com...
Plenty of eyebrows were raised in NBA circles when Cody Zeller announced his intentions to forgo being a top-10 pick in the 2012 Draft and return to Indiana for his sophomore season. It turns out many of those concerns were justified, as Zeller struggled to make significant progress off his fantastic freshman campaign and evolve into the dominating presence he was expected to develop into as a sophomore.
The intrigue around Zeller continues to revolve around his excellent combination of size, athleticism and scoring instincts. A fluid, coordinated 7-footer, Zeller runs the floor as well as any big man in college basketball and can make plays above the rim with ease if given a running start.
Zeller has been linked to the Blazers in a number of mock drafts and was named one of the three "best fits" for Portland by one writer.
All vitals/information/video courtesy of DraftExpress.com and ESPN.com, with notes courtesy of Casey Holdahl atBlazers.com, who has more right here.
The Blazers opened the pre-draft process by working out six players last Thursday, another four last Friday, six more on Monday and another six on Friday morning. Blazers GM Neil Olshey took questions about the pre-draft process and Blazers coach Terry Stotts explained his role in the workouts.
The Blazers are expected to run a total of nine or 10 workouts in advance of the 2013 NBA Draft, set for June 27. The Blazers hold the No. 10 pick in the first round and three second-round picks (No. 39, 40 and 45).
PS Thanks to BornWinner in the FanShots for getting there first.
PPS Thanks to all you guys fanshotting articles over the next few weeks. I'm on the road; apologies for any delays on my end.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter