SB Nation - Luke Zeller

James Johnson to participate on Chicago Bulls summer league team

MRickman84 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:32:56 -0000

The 16th pick overall, Wake Forest's James Johnson, will be playing on the Chicago Bulls summer league team as he transitions his game from college to the pros. The Bulls will kick off their summer session on July 14 against Golden State and will play four more games from the 15th to the 19th.

The Bulls summer roster reads like an ACC all-star team, with notables including Johnson, DeMarcus Nelson, Julius Hodge, Brandon Costner and AD Vassallo. Also on the team are players like Taurean Green, Taj Gibson, James Augustine, Luke Zeller, Nick Lewis and Josh Shipp.

The NIT: Gameday Breakdown

Ken Howlett — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:30:19 -0000

Tonights 7:00 EST Kentucky versus Notre Dame (20-14, 8-11) quarterfinal NIT match-up revives a once intense rivalry dating back to 1929. UK and the Irish have battled on the hard-wood a total of 58 times, with the 'Cats prevailing in 41 of those contests. UK and Notre Dame last played in 2004, which culminated a 10 game UK winning streak in the series. Kentucky last lost to the Irish in March of 1990.

Interestingly enough, UK's fair coach Adolph Rupp lost seven in a row to Notre Dame (1936-'42), but he recovered to win nine in a row from 1951 to 1963.

This year, Notre Dame is led by All-America and former Big East Player of the Year, Luke Harangody, and All-Big East performer Kyle McAlarney. The terrific duo account for 38.4 of Notre Dames 76.2 points per game (50.4%), which makes them very similar to UK: Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson score 41.7 of UK's 74.3 points per game (56.1%). Notre Dame does boast two other players who score in double-figures, so they do have a bit more balance in the scoring column than Kentucky.

A trip to historic Madison Square Garden for the NIT Final Four is on the line tonight, so for a closer look at Mike Brey's Irish, read on:

Notre Dame Personnel

Luke Harangody: 6-8, 255 lb junior forward -- Harangody averages 23.3 points, 11.9 rebounds (3.6 off. rebounds), 2.0 assists, and 1.0 block per game. He shoots 46.3% from the field, 34.4% from the three-point line (11-32), and 77.4% from the free throw line.

Kyle McAlarney: 6-0, 195 lb senior guard -- He averages 15.1 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. McAlarney is shooting 41.2% from the floor, 42.9% from beyond the arc (120-280), and 86.9% from the charity stripe.

Ryan Ayers: 6-7, 210 lb senior guard -- Ayers is averaging 11.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He makes 44.3% of his shots, 43.4% of his trey attempts (89-205), and 79.5% of his free throws.

Tory Jackson: 5-11, 193 lb junior guard -- Jackson is averaging 10.6 points, 4.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He shoots 41.4% from the field, 36.0% from the three-point line (27-75), and 64.7% from the free throw line.

Zach Hillesland: 6-9, 228 lb senior forward -- He's averaging 4.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Hillesland makes 42.3% of his shots, and 55.8% of his free throws.

Luke Zeller: 6-11, 245 lb senior F/C -- Zeller is averaging 4.9 points, and 2.8 rebounds per game. He shoots 40.0% from the field, 34.3% from the three-point line (36-105), and 61.5% from the free throw line.

Notre Dame and Opponents Statistics (National Ranking in Parenthesis)

Notre Dame Opponents

Points Per Game -- 76.2 70.9

Field Goal% -- 43.5 42.7

Free Throw% -- 70.5 67.1

3-Point% -- 39.6 (14th) 33.5

Rebound Margin -- +1.1

Off. Reb. Per Game -- 12.3 12.0

Off. Rebound% -- 31.8 30.8

Def. Rebound% -- 69.2 68.2

Assists Per Game -- 16.9 (8th) 13.9

Steals Per Game -- 5.4 5.2

Turnovers Per Game -- 9.7 10.4

Blocks Per Game -- 2.6 4.1

Irish Items of Interest

Notre Dame takes an average of 22.1 threes per game (27th nationally) ... They make an average of 8.8 threes per game (11th) ... The Irish sport a 1.74 assist to turnover ratio (1st) ... They also grab 26.9 defensive rebounds per game (14th) ... Notre Dame averages 1.1 points per possession (28th) ... They have attempted 2,164 field goals (7th) ... They average 42.6 rebonds per game (22nd) ... They give up 41.5 rebounds per game (309) ... Notre Dame lost seven games in a row between Jan. 10 and Feb. 7 ... Key ND wins -- @Texas 81-80, Georgetown 73-67, U of L 90-57, UAB 70-64 (NIT), N. Mexico 70-68 (NIT) ... Key ND losses -- North Carolina 102-87, Ohio State 67-62, @ St. Johns 71-65, @ U of L 87-73, @ Syracuse 93-74, UConn 69-61, @ Pitt 93-80, @ Cincinnati 93-83, @ UCLA 89-63, @ West Virginia 79-68, @UConn 72-65, Villanova 77-60, West Virginia 74-62 (Big East Tournament) ... Notre Dame averages 77.6 points per game at home ... In their last eight games they are averaging only 66.5 points per game ... In their last eight games the are giving up 65.6 points per game (they're 5-3 in those games) ... UK is 5-13 in games played in South Bend ... Notre Dame is a 2.5 point favorite.

CliffsNotes Analysis

Patterson versus Harangody ... that's how some see this match-up. But, I believe that UK needs to be more concerned with Notre Dame's penchant for taking and making three-point shots. As was true against Creighton, UK must defend the perimeter with vigor, or risk a blowout loss.

Turnovers, which have been down for Kentucky over the last couple of games (12.3 per game, over the last four games), must remain a non-issue. The Irish take very good care of the ball, and sport the nations best A/TO ratio, 1.74 (16.9 assists pg to 9.7 turnovers). But, they do not force many turnovers (10.4 per game).

Perry Stevenson needs to continue his improved play. UK has utilized the high-low game quite effectively recently, which the 'Cats will need tonight, hopefully to get Harangody in foul trouble.

Jodie Meeks, who against Creighton used the dribble-drive to produce points, will find himself with a height and quickness advantage versus the Irish guards. A strong game from UK's leading scorer could be in the offing (no way ND's 6-7 guard, Ryan Ayers, can contain Meeks).

Kentucky's defense has been elevated over the last couple of games also, with Patterson and Stevenson controlling the paint ... that will need to continue. As will UK's recent rebounding surge ...

Although Notre Dame is not a great rebounding team, they are 14th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game with 26.9, which means UK must crash the offensive boards if they don't want to be limited to one-and-done possessions.

If UK's intensity and focus mirror Monday night's performance in Omaha, then the 'Cats will be in the game with a chance at victory.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats, survive and advance.

Pittsburgh Starts Their Super Bowl Weekend Off Right: DeJuan Blair, Panthers Send Irish To Their Fifth Straight Loss

CW — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:47:18 -0000

There are a few things you can do in basketball no matter how much bigger, stronger, faster and more talented your opponent. One of them is blocking out to secure defensive rebounds. When you're playing defense and someone puts a shot up, you just find a person wearing the other uniform and put all of your might into making sure that in order to get to the basketball, they must go over or through you. I understand that it's more difficult to block out when you're playing zone, and I also understand that most teams have had a lot of difficulty in keeping Pitt off the offensive glass, especially DeJuan Blair, who is a joy to watch. That's still no excuse for what the Panthers did this afternoon, nor is this new found penchant for lazy entry passes to the wings, one of the worst possible turnovers you can commit. It almost always results in a fast break opportunity for the opponent, and its preventable if the passer doesn't stare down his target and the intended recipient just comes to the ball.

There are a lot of bad habits that have developed for the Irish, and I don't know if there are enough games left in the season to correct them and make the big dance. There were a few positives today, with Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland playing well off the bench and Luke Harangody continuing to defend his Big East Player of the Year award with valor, but it's the fifth straight loss and things are certainly looking dour in Breytopia.

I think my major thought after this game, after imagining how fun it would be to attend a NIT Final Four, was that it's a shame the Irish only take on Pittsburgh once, because I'd love to see Blair and Harangody go at it again. Blair must have pro scouts salivating, as he's able to put up insane stats with a limited amount of offensive polish and lack of proficiency at the foul line. Pair him with a Euro-style big man (maybe Toronto takes him to replace Bosh and puts him next to Il Mago) and you'd be very, very happy.

The next game is Wednesday night in Cincinnati. While the Irish may lose, at least you won't have to worry about compromising half of your dual-tuner Tivo for it, therefore missing the chance to record the Big Monday line-up of How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, House or Chuck (in 3D!) at 8:00. Sadly, the Connecticut/Louisville game will probably be epic and you'll want to check that out, so thank your lucky stars for streaming video. The other thing you can be sure about in regards to Monday is that Notre Dame will no longer be ranked, and may no longer be in Joe Lunardi's projections.

To fully cover this game, I'm going to post excerpts from Matt and I's GChat throughout the course of it. I'm not going to bother with formatting, and apologize for the lack of context and editing by shoving it after the jump.

Matthew: finally, someone is on to watch the game with me

12:04 PM CW: i got your back

Matthew: smoothness from zeller there

CW: what's the record for offensive rebounds in a game

Matthew: whatever Pitt gets tonight

today*

CW: high five

12:05 PM Matthew: luke is the best

Matthew: gody needs to get closer to the basic

bucket

not basic

12:18 PM that doesn't even mean anything

you watch real world yet?

12:20 PM CW: yes

Matthew: i almost called you last night

it woulda been 230ish your time

12:21 PM when devyn was about to sing

i was so excited

CW: you should have

Matthew: i wanted her to be so bad

CW: i would have gladly woken up

CW: haha

if we stay close on the boards

we can wi nthis

so far we're battling, save for dejuan

he's a freak

Matthew: a monstar

CW: did you know he collects something like 40 percent of available offensive boards?

Matthew: ugh

12:24 PM AYERS!

AIRES!

12:25 PM and

LUKACZ!

i don't think we even practice fast breaks

12:26 PM like 2-1 or 3-1 situations

he never know what to do

12:27 PM i feel like I would enjoy "Life on Mars"

if only because I like Michael Imperioli and i bet the music is solid

12:28 PM CW: A) we don't practice fast breaks

B) Mackrell is retarded

C) It does look pretty solid, plus Harvey Keitel

Matthew: and it's network so he can't show his dick

CW: D) If we lose a game where Luke Zeller has 20 points and Peoples hits a turnaround 3-pointer, it's not meant to be

12:29 PM Matthew: i'll agree

zeller has to be set

completely set

CW: luke zeller, the new big z?

Matthew: no, z can board

Matthew: i like our new defense on blair

leave him completely alone

that was ridiculous

12:31 PM ryan is...baaaaaack?

CW: maybe so

Matthew: maybe not

CW: if we get this going up and down, that's probably better for us

Matthew: yeah

CW: tory is playing horrendously

Matthew: we're better shooters than they are.....ish

12:32 PM CW: how many passes to the wings has he had stolen during the losing streak?

Matthew: millions

Matthew: nice work kmac

that was embarrassing

holy shit

1:05 PM if you said you'd give me -500 for pitt to win now, i would take it in a second

CW: oh, absolutely

1:06 PM Matthew: i'd parlay it with tory jackson scoring less than 10 points and take that cash

"the international" is a good premise

seriously, the banks have all the money

they can do whatever they want

1:07 PM the financial sector is out of control

1:08 PM CW: clive owen is going to kill that fucking bank

and then die at the end, valiantly

CW: i'm getting an ulcer

Matthew: oof

you need to get a body on him

i'd just like to score

there we go

that was hideous

1:11 PM CW: BOX HIM OUT BOX HIM OUT BOX HIM OUT

Matthew: unbelievable

there goes my streak

c'est la vie

i did get it to 3 last night

1:12 PM on the manly shoulders of serena williams

just try it

Matthew: as soon as we get down, it's over because we can't defend

or block out

holy shit

unbelievable

CW: how do we only have eight turnovers

1:18 PM they've all been of the "totally mortifying" variety

Matthew: unbelievable

22-6 run to start the second for pitt

CW: oh, larry highlights

Matthew: yes

CW: that makes me feel better

Matthew: oh, that didn't show the best one

they*

CW: i know

lame

1:19 PM Matthew: when he's falling down on his back with two guys on hi

this is terrible

CW: haha, dejuan blair is awesome

Matthew: that was a bullshit call

we doubled him on that one

1:20 PM CW: a confused luke wonders where the ball went

Matthew: hahaha

that was awesome

luke zeller: "oh, c'mon, man."

oh tory

tory, tory, tory

Matthew: down to 8, he we go

good timeout

keep their heads on straight

1:23 PM that austin carr stat is ridiculous

58 straight games with 20 or more

no 3's

no shot clock

1:24 PM no more dribbling

just no more

1:25 PM damn it

damn it dixon

1:27 PM CW: ulcer

1:28 PM Matthew: how have we not shot a three yet this half

CW: mike brey, wtf kind of timeout is this

what are you doing

explain to me how it's crucial we call this time out

leaving us one

please do

1:32 PM Matthew: he has a funny youtube clip on his iphone

1:33 PM CW: "Guys, guys, look at this."

Matthew: dejuan blair is the man

CW: he really is

i am really impressed

Matthew: he's shook up though

i bet he gets a dunk on this possession

CW: hahahahahahahahaha

laughter

Matthew: welp

this is not good

1:34 PM at least ayers seems to be back a bit

1:36 PM CW: how many offensive boards do you think pitt has right now

1:37 PM dear dave wannstedt, i love you

i thought i hated you, but then cam cameron coached the dolphins for a season, and i realized you were oddly competent in comparison

Matthew: more than 15

CW: 17

well played

2 less than dejuan blair has total

1:38 PM notre dame rebounds: 21 dejuan blair: 19

i hope he ends up with more

Matthew: at least gody has 20

CW: it's not his fault

he's a freaking warrior

CW: the laughter makes the pain not hurt quite as bad

Matthew: len elmore just complimented hilleslands ball-handling

1:43 PM i don't get it

okay, 6-0 run and we're back

two threes

please

nevermind

CW: haha, luke knocked dejuan down

Matthew: big three coming up

1:44 PM CW: laughter

Matthew: did i call it

DID I CALL IT!

how predictable is our team

1:45 PM CW: too predictable

we should just edit our chat and throw that up as a post

1:49 PM Matthew: what

what was that

we're so bad at pressing

1:50 PM CW: i want to hug dejuan blair

Matthew: this game is done

it makes me sad

how fucking hard is our schedule

unbelievable

1:51 PM we scored 28 points so far in this half

1:52 PM they've scored 52

CW: we're not going to the tournament

Matthew: no sir

but we could win the NIT

and that would be fun too

CW: it actually would

let's go for that

Matthew: and win it again next year

back-to-back NIT championships

that'd be awesome

1:53 PM the big east tournament though

anything could happen

gody and blair are chatting

cute

he is so much better than us

Matthew: no more fouls, gents

c'est finis

1:59 PM CW: dejuan blair, big east player of the year?

Maui Invitational Day Two: A Look Back At Indiana and a Look Ahead At Texas

CW — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:02:57 -0000

I was at work for the majority of the Indiana game yesterday, but was keeping track of it through Gametracker and streams of GChat thoughts from a couple friends. I hope they don't mind them using them, but here's a stream of some of the superlatives coming my way from fans who hadn't yet seen the Irish play yet this season:

wow

  just wow

  i love it

  nd bball

  they might be good

  imagine if they come out hot instead of ice cold

  perfection

  zeller looks athletic

  harangody has calmed down

hillesland is under control

  everyone can f*cking shoot

  unreal

its so fun to watch

  you are gonna love it

  it is just 30 ft shots all day

  people jumping and passing and shooting

  unreal

  i think mike brey is the reason we shouldnt fire charlie weis

  have a little faith

~

we look great

  but indiana is awful

  peoples under control, tory can hit jumpers now, luke z crashing the boards with authority

  everyone is better

  ayers slashing

  hitting everything

After a very cold start, yesterday was a clinic on offensive basketball. Even with Luke Harangody having a slow day (still tossing up 14 points, 5 boards, 5 steals and 2 assists), the offense didn't miss a beat, mainly because Tory Jackson played like the player we all hoped he could become for the entire time. He dominated the ball on offense, but in the way you want a point guard to. If the defense backed off, he banged home a jumper in the first half. When they pressed up on him after the break, he slipped right around for an easy lay-up (or a dish). I think I can say with near one hundred percent confidence that if Tory is hitting his jumpers, there might be no way to guard him. He is going to get quite a workout from the Texas backcourt of AJ Abrams and Justin Mason, but there's the potential for Maui as Tory's coming out party. He's disappeared for games in his career, but on Mike Brey's team of men, he may have matured the most in the offseason. Never pressing but constantly pressuring the defense.

Also a man yesterday? Lucas Zellervich, who threw up a stat line of ten points and eleven boards off the bench, but did it by hitting two of his six threes and collecting six offensive rebounds. How many players are grabbing a half dozen half dozen boards and putting up the same number of three's? If Zeller can stretch the floor and crash the boards on offense while protecting the lane on defense, he'll have finally reached the acme everyone imagined he could as a freshman. I cannot wait to see him spar with Connor Atchley, his Longhorn doppelganger.

I loved the entire attitude of the team in transition, with the number of passes twenty or thirty feet ahead reaching double digits. Probably the most notable was Kyle McAlarney's three-quarter court pass to Harangody, where he awkwardly (but beautifully) finished with a scoop lay-up. K-Mac finally found his range, which happens to include any space in the gym, and combined with Zeller and Ryan Ayers to show that there is no way to zone this team. If Ayers can consistently go one dribble and pull-up, like he did early on in the game for one of his first baskets, it is game over. He also was smoothly efficient yesterday, tossing up 13 points on 5-7 shooting and collecting five boards, two steals and an assist.

Great effort from everyone, though. Zach Hillesland didn't get a lot of scoring opportunities, but that's fine, as he contributes in a hundred other ways, twenty minutes of controlled chaos on the offensive boards and defensive side of the floor. Jonathan Peoples ran the break well and was obviously very upset he missed a wide open three, but didn't let it affect his defense, while Tyrone Nash and Carleton Scott show why a lot of people are very excited for them to get some extended minutes should the opportunity arise.

I apologize if this recap is overflowing with superlatives when Indiana is a team in a really bad place right now, but the team looked so incredibly good a majority of the time, and did so with subpar efforts from behind the arc (10-for-26-) and the free throw line (a paltry 2-for-7). Tonight's game against Texas (7:00 on ESPN Original Recipe) is going to be a great measuring stick. While the Longhorns are still adjusting to Abrams as their primary ball-handler after DJ Augustin moved onto the Charlotte Bobcats (tossing up a 25-11-5 last night, actually), Rick Barnes has a fantastic defensive team to go with the great offense he puts on the floor year-in and year-out. From our great Texas counterpart on SBN, Burnt Orange Nation:

Texas will advance if they keep Luke from catching the ball with a foot in the paint and if they can take advantage of their depth advantage with a quick, yet smart tempo.

Notre Dame will advance if the Irish guards can handle the Texas pressure and if Harangody can get others involved in the offense.

The writer admits he hasn't seen Notre Dame play a lot, which makes sense because everyone one of those points is easily countered by something this Irish team naturally does. Harangody can score from outside the paint, I would love to play at a "quick, yet smart tempo," I would be extremely surprised if Tory was bothered by their pressure and everyone is involved in the Irish offense from the go.

Beautiful but dangerous.

This is not going to be an easy game. Texas' fantastic forward Damion James (I can't type the names of Texas players without hearing Fran Fraschilla or Ron Franklin's voice in my head) is coming off a rocky outing against St. Joes, while Abrams is a quicker version of McAlarney, a true nightmare to try and keep track of on the floor. Gary Johnson, Dexter Pittman and Atchley (I'm serious, he and Zeller are nearly identical, from fans hating seeing them on the floor to totally putting it all together, although Atchley did it a year sooner) will be the primary big bodies thrown at Harangody, but expect to see Barnes go deep into his bench to make up for playing the middle game of a back-to-back-to-back. All of those misses lay-ups and threes from Indiana are going to be converted by the 'Horns, so the Irish are going to have to be a lot sharper on the defensive end.

Go Irish, Beat Horns.