Cody Zeller: What It Means to Indiana Basketball After Landing 5-Star Recruit

Cody Zeller, the 6'10" power forward out of Washington, Indiana, has committed to Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers for the 2011-2012 season.

This is a big-time recruit for an Indiana program that has struggled the past two years under head coach Tom Crean, after being under serious sanctions following recruiting violations under former head coach Kelvin Sampson.

Zeller comes from a family of successful basketball players, including his brother Luke, a former Notre Dame standout, and brother Tyler, who currently is playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Indiana fans are surely rejoicing, as this big-time recruit could mean big things for IU basketball in the future, and allow it to get out of the serious slump it is in right now.

One can only imagine that Zeller's decision to play for Indiana came from the desire to bring the Indiana Hoosiers back to supremacy among the nation's top college basketball programs.

Although Zeller is a big time recruit and a great land, will he be able to lead IU back to the NCAA Tournament?

Only time will tell, but if Zeller intends to stay with his four-year commitment to Indiana basketball, he might be able to bring the program back to the top.

College basketball recruiting is kind of like money. Once you have it, you can make more of it.  This is the major thing that Zeller brings to the Hoosiers.  With him going to play in Bloomington, it will draw other recruits and put Indiana on their radar.

In a time when the Hoosiers have taken the back seat to other Indiana schools because of Butler and Purdue, maybe Zeller will be able to put Indiana back on the map.

Those five championship banners that are hanging in Assembly Hall haven't been much help as of late to the Hoosiers, but landing a big-time player like Zeller will be.

It will be a big-time advantage to the Hoosiers if he doesn't decide to leave after one year, and he just might be able to return the Hoosiers to glory.

James Evens is a Purdue student and Basketball/Football Featured Columnist for the Boilermakers, along with being a Writing Intern at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, or like him on Facebook.