Zeller, Leonard have changed the game for their teams

A year ago, Meyers Leonard rarely saw the floor for Illinois. The big man played only eight minutes per game and averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. Last year, Cody Zeller was helping Washington (Ind.) High School to its second straight state title, Big Ten basketball hardly on his mind. Both Leonard and Zeller have quickly developed into dynamic college centers that have completely changed the way their respective teams play. The guard play is still there on both teams — Illinois has Brandon Paul, for example — but the men in the middle are now the focus of many opposing team’s game plans. “It’s different because it’s a different type of breed,” Indiana guard Victor Oladipo said Thursday. “There aren’t a lot of 7-footers who are agile, can run and jump like Cody and Meyers.” Leonard and Zeller’s games are so similar that if you only read comments from players and coaches, it would be almost impossible to t...