Spring Break
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Zeller dubbed Indiana's Mr. Basketball
Joins Ayers in recognized class elite
Pat Leonard
Issue date: 4/11/05 Section: Sports
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After averaging a near double-double for the second straight season and hitting a half court buzzer-beater to win the 3A state title, Washington High School senior and Notre Dame recruit Luke Zeller was named the Indianapolis Star 2005 Indiana Mr. Basketball in the newspaper's Sunday editions.
Zeller received 101 of a possible 247 votes cast by coaches and members of the media. Dominic James of Richmond finished second in the voting with 63 votes, and Josh McRoberts of Carmel was third with 41 votes. Twelve additional high school seniors combined to receive the remaining 42 votes.
Germantown Academy guard Ryan Ayers, recruited to the Irish along with Zeller, was named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in late March.
Zeller averaged 19.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a senior, solid numbers especially against the double- and triple-team defenses he faced throughout the season. He did not score a point in the McDonald's All-American game at the Joyce Center March 30, while McRoberts earned the game's MVP honors with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
But Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he felt Zeller's postseason performance is what sealed the coveted award for the All-American recruit.
"I'm happy for Luke," Brey said. "I think it's well-deserved with the way he finished his senior year. It's almost storybook. I was hoping that's the way they would vote when you win a state championship in the fashion he did."
Zeller's fashion was to demand the ball when his team needed him most.
With 1.8 seconds remaining in front of 18,345 fans at Canseco Fieldhouse, Zeller asked his coach for the ball during a timeout. Seconds later, he sank the running, half court shot that so many Indiana basketball fans are now familiar with, a moment that would run later in the night as the Top Play on ESPN's Sportscenter.
Amid the accolades and the praise, however, Zeller - who Brey called a "classy young man" - seemed calm and determined in a phone interview Sunday night.
Zeller received 101 of a possible 247 votes cast by coaches and members of the media. Dominic James of Richmond finished second in the voting with 63 votes, and Josh McRoberts of Carmel was third with 41 votes. Twelve additional high school seniors combined to receive the remaining 42 votes.
Germantown Academy guard Ryan Ayers, recruited to the Irish along with Zeller, was named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in late March.
Zeller averaged 19.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a senior, solid numbers especially against the double- and triple-team defenses he faced throughout the season. He did not score a point in the McDonald's All-American game at the Joyce Center March 30, while McRoberts earned the game's MVP honors with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
But Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he felt Zeller's postseason performance is what sealed the coveted award for the All-American recruit.
"I'm happy for Luke," Brey said. "I think it's well-deserved with the way he finished his senior year. It's almost storybook. I was hoping that's the way they would vote when you win a state championship in the fashion he did."
Zeller's fashion was to demand the ball when his team needed him most.
With 1.8 seconds remaining in front of 18,345 fans at Canseco Fieldhouse, Zeller asked his coach for the ball during a timeout. Seconds later, he sank the running, half court shot that so many Indiana basketball fans are now familiar with, a moment that would run later in the night as the Top Play on ESPN's Sportscenter.
Amid the accolades and the praise, however, Zeller - who Brey called a "classy young man" - seemed calm and determined in a phone interview Sunday night.