Hoosiers Now

Former Hoosier Cody Zeller Wins Dust-Up With Julius Randle During NBA Playoff Game

Former Hoosier Cody Zeller of the Miami Heat shoved New York Knicks forward to the ground on Saturday during an NBA playoff game, setting off a little dust-up. Zeller's Miami teammates — and all Heat fans — loved the aggressiveness, Randle, who played at Kentucky for a year, wasn't as thrilled.

Tom Brew

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There's a whole lot of hatred when it comes to the basketball rivalry between Indiana and Kentucky, even if the two schools refuse to meet up on the college hardwood these days. But that rivalry often carries over into the NBA as well.

Former Hoosier Cody Zeller, one of the stars of Indiana's No. 1-ranked team in 2013, is a backup center for the Miami Heat these days, is still going strong during his 10th NBA season. 

The Heat won Game 3 of their second-round NBA playoffs series with the New York Knicks 105-86, and one of the best moments of the game was when Zeller was jostling with Knicks forward Julius Randle — who played one year at Kentucky — and shoved him to the floor, which led to a lot of pushing and shoving among several players.

While Randle — who played at Kentucky in 2013-14, a year after Zeller left Indiana — tried to box out Zeller, the 6-foot-11 center from Washington, Ind. jostled back. After a few seconds of bodies bumping, Zeller shoved Randle down to the ground below the basket late in the third quarter.

Tempers flared, and New York's Isaiah Hartenstein then tangled up with Zeller. From the ground, Randle was caught on camera saying, “Come on.”

The scuffle was quickly broken up and Zeller and Hartenstein both received technical fouls. So did Miami's Caleb Martin, who shoved Hartenstein after he shoved Zeller.

Zeller said after the game that the moment was Randle ''was nothing.'' The Heat, who have been having a blast in the playoffs with star Jimmy Butler playing at an all-world level, gave Zeller a lot of fun ribbing afterward, too. 

They liked it that he was mixing it up, although Butler jokingly gave him a shot for being a bad influence to Butler's daughter.

"Talk to his violent ass. He's setting a bad example for my daughter,'' Butler said to the media who surrounded Zeller.

This was the Heat's first home game in the second round, and the South Florida crowd was juiced. The Heat-Knicks rivalry is real, and this is the sixth time they've met in the postseason. Pushing and shoving and outright brawls have become the norm through the years.

This year is no different. The Heat, who are the No. 8 seed that needed to win a play-in game just to make the postseason, don't back down from anyone. They upset the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks to get to the second round. 

The Heat lead the series 2-1 now, with Game 4 on Monday night in Miami. Game 5 is on Wednesday night in New York, and it will be interesting to see if this series gets more chippy as it nears the end.

Zeller was the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and spent the first eight years of his career with the Charlotte Hornets. He played in Portland last year, but dealt with injuries and only played 27 games there. He signed with the Utah Jazz this season, but was cut before the start of the season. He spent some time back home in Indiana, and was at Assembly Hall for IU's win over North Carolina in late November.

Zeller came to Miami in late February and has been the backup to center Bam Adebayo. He signed for the veteran's minimum — a one-year deal for $743,922 — and played 15 regular-season games for Miami, starting twice. He played 14.5 minutes per game, averaging 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has played in seven postseason games, and played 12 minutes on Saturday, scoring six points. 

Zeller, who was Indiana Mr. Basketball in 2011, has made nearly $80 million during his NBA career. His two brothers, Luke and Tyler, also won Mr. Basketball awards, had great college careers and played in the pros. He's been reunited with former Indiana teammate Victor Oladipo, but he was lost for the season last month after a patellar tendon injury. 

Zeller and his teammates were big supporters of Oladipo after his injury, donning matching t-shirts.

in Miami fans had a lot of fun with Zeller's moment, which will now be added to Heat-Knicks lore. This wasn't as bad as former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy grabbing legs trying to stop a fight in the late 1990s, but it was fun none the less.

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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