Tyler Zeller
As the Celtics continued their training camp in Waltham on Thursday, one newcomer’s performance has commanded the attention of his teammates. Tyler Zeller’s name has been the first out of many players’ mouths when asked who has impressed them most in camp this fall.
“When you ask that question, it’s got to be somebody new, so it really narrows the list down,” Zeller joked. “But it’s one of those things where it’s really an honor for somebody to say that about you. But at the same time I’ve got to continue to prove that and continue to get better.”
Brad Stevens spent time recruiting the Zeller brothers for years while at Butler — all three of them. Ironically, Tyler may have been the brother that Stevens felt he was least likely to end up coaching one day.
“When I was an assistant I recruited Luke, who is the oldest, very hard and didn’t get him,” Stevens said. “And then [I] figured out we weren’t going to get Tyler pretty quickly. And then I recruited Cody, the youngest one, probably the hardest because I had known him since I recruited Luke.”
Joked Stevens: “But clearly, if he wanted to come, I would have taken him.”
Now that Stevens got his guy, or at least one of them, he is seeing a lot of things in Zeller’s game that are going to earn him minutes in his first year in Boston.
“Like I’ve said all along, he just runs the floor,” Stevens said. “He’s a very unselfish player, he’s a smart player. He stands out because he does little things well. He’s a guy that can score on the block in the right matchup, but his strength is in beating people to spots.”
Running the floor is something Stevens repeatedly has spoken about while referring to Zeller since his arrival. However, running is something that Zeller had to learn to enjoy.
“I actually hated running as a kid,” Zeller claimed when asked where that reputation came from. “I had an AAU coach in seventh grade who used to make us run all the time in practice, I used to hate it. As soon as I got off his team I started running a lot.”
Added Zeller: “Pretty much I just wanted [running] to be over, basically. In time I’ve come to like it and enjoy it. It is something that makes me unique. They always say to play to your strengths.”
Training camp will wrap up for the Celtics over the weekend, then Zeller and the C’s will be off to the races on Monday night when they open up the preseason playing host to the 76ers at TD Garden.
