Basketball: The Stellar Evan Zeller

Do not confuse Evan Zeller with the towering college sensations Tyler and Cody Zeller. He’s his own player. At 6’ 3”, this junior at may not be as big as those two, but he’s got the motivation to make up for it.

Before the Mission Viejo Diablos’ basketball season came to an end, Zeller kept his body busy in practice. As the Diablos ran their 4 on 4 on 4 drills to prepare for their CIF Southern Section IA competition, Zeller actively communicates with his partners.

He doesn't hold back from being vocal in stark contrast to his quiet backcourt partner Michael Cramer.

But Zeller's hustle speaks louder than his mouth as he throws down several slam dunks and knocks down open shots from long distance.

“He's a competitive spirit,” assistant coach John Solovy said. “His competitiveness is contagious to the whole team.”

With the season over, Head Coach Troy Roelen fielded lots of phone calls and letters from colleges interested in recruiting Zeller, schools like Princeton, Boston College, Columbia, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. The coaching staff has many reasons to believe Zeller can succeed in the Division I college level.

His versatility has been his main feature. He contributes points, assists, steals and rebounds regularly. As he proved in the game against Orange Lutheran in the CIF Southern Section Finals, he was able to knock down shots from the college three-point line.

He has also been putting on more muscle and size to keep up with athletic opponents and increasing his understanding of the game to make better decisions. Most importantly, his strong work ethic shows that he is willing to keep improving until his skills become more refined.

“He's just difficult to replace because he's got a tremendous work ethic and kids look up to him. He takes extra shots after practice,” Roelen said. “He never wants to leave the gym.”

Roelen saw Zeller develop into a true leader over the past three years. He was a freshman on the varsity squad two years ago. Zeller was starting alongside a senior-heavy team.

He spent that year using his talents to show that he could help the team win, Roelen said, but he also learned a lot from them. 

“He had really good people mold him in the midst of adversity,” the coach said.

Roelen says Zeller is becoming a leader, but for athlete himself isn't sure.

"Having a voice on the team would help a lot," said Zeller. "When you have kids that are sophomore or freshmen coming in, they don't know much about how varsity basketball is. You have to help them out."

Roelen believes Zeller has already shown leadership. In the second round of the CIF State Championship, Zeller put on a stellar performance, scoring 22 points against Mater Dei high school. Unfortunately, his effort was not enough to carry the team as they lost their final game of the season 78-66. The loss put the team at shock, including Zeller who came into the game expecting a win. But moments after the game, Zeller called a quick team meeting outside.

“We played the best we could,” he said. “We played as hard as we could for thirty two minutes. Next year we get the fourth league title and come back here and do things right!”

Although the season has ended, basketball never stops for Zeller. He has plans to improve during the offseason to help his school take the state championship next year.

He aims to get bigger and stronger while improving his ball-handling, defense, and rebounding. His current schedule begins with fitness after school to work out for an hour, hard-nose shooting practice, followed by skills training, then home to rest and complete homework, capping off the evening with another workout session.

“He’s a constant gym rat,” Roelen said. “When he has a bad day, he wants to stay and shoot. This is his outlet. This is his catharsis. This is therapeutic for him.”

Although he is living out the life of a basketball junkie, Zeller still acknowledges that his education is top priority.

He did homework on the team bus during road games. His favorite subject has been math, including Algebra 1 and 2, but he still struggles in certain classes.

 “I'm taking Spanish three and that's been mind boggling to me.”

He does not plan on going professional after college, believing that his life is better invested in finding a job after college, but if the opportunity to play in the NBA ever shows up, he said he'll take it.