Brian Zoubek

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1988)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Brian Zoubek

| image = Brian Zoubek. Duke vs. Iowa State. United Center.jpg

| caption = Zoubek in 2010

| position = Center

| team =

| number =

| height_ft = 7

| height_in = 1

| weight_lb = 260

| nationality = American

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1988|4|6}}

| birth_place = Haddonfield, New Jersey, U.S.

| high_school = Haddonfield Memorial
(Haddonfield, New Jersey)

| college = Duke (2006–2010)

| draft_year = 2010

| highlights = *NCAA champion (2010)

  • 3× All-ACC Academic Team (2008–2010)
  • Fourth-team Parade All-American (2006)
  • New Jersey state Player of the Year (2006)

}}

Brian Henry Zoubek (born April 6, 1988) is an American retired {{convert|7|ft|1|in|adj=on}} basketball center. He was a member of the Duke Blue Devils' 2010 NCAA Championship team.{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22727&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=620667&Q_SEASON=2006 |title=Brian Zoubek Bio – GoDuke.com—Official Athletics Web site of Duke University |publisher=Goduke.com |date= |accessdate=March 21, 2010}}

Family

Zoubek's father, Paul, played baseball and football for Princeton University, and his mother, Liza Cartmell, rowed crew at Wellesley. His older sister, Sarah, played basketball at Yale University.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2010/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=5055071 |title=NCAA tournament: Duke's Brian Zoubek perseveres, thrives – ESPN |publisher=ESPN |date=January 1, 2008 |access-date=April 5, 2010}}

High school

During his four years at Haddonfield Memorial High School, the Bulldawgs had a record of 110–10 and won three championships. In 2006 Zoubek was named as a fourth-team Parade All-American selection, named to the Jordan All-America team, and was New Jersey Player of the Year. He was twice selected by the Newark Star-Ledger to the all-state first team and was selected all-conference and All-South Jersey three times.{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22727&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=620667&Q_SEASON=2006 |title=Brian Zoubek Bio – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site |publisher=GoDuke.com |date= |accessdate=March 31, 2010}}

Zoubek averaged 24.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks per game as a senior. He was rated 33rd overall by The Recruiting Services Consensus Index, and ranked 24th in the Rivals.com Top 150 prospects of 2006.

College

Zoubek started his Duke career with two double figure scoring games, against UNC Greensboro and Columbia.

In the summer of 2007 he broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in a pickup game.{{cite news|last=Carey |first=Jack |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2010-04-04-duke-zoubek_N.htm |title=Duke's game got healthy when a healed Zoubek joined lineup |publisher=Usatoday.Com |date= April 5, 2010|accessdate=April 5, 2010}} The break required surgery and the use of crutches until the fall, when he was fitted with a carbon and steel cast. In January 2008, he broke his left foot again, this time in practice. Doctors realized his foot had not healed, and in the off-season he again had surgery, followed by crutches, the boot, and rehab.{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jan08/0,4670,BKCT25DukeInjuries,00.html |title=Duke's Brian Zoubek Out With Broken Foot – College Sports |publisher=FOXNews.com |date=January 8, 2008 |accessdate=March 21, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2008/01/08/Duke-center-fractures-foot-again/UPI-83851199840031/ |title=Duke center fractures foot again |publisher=UPI.com |date=January 8, 2008 |accessdate=March 21, 2010}}

Zoubek recorded his first double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds against St. John's on February 24, 2008. A fan favorite at Duke, he was often showered with chants of "Zooooouuu" from the Cameron Crazies after grabbing a rebound or scoring.{{cite web|last=O'Neil |first=Dana |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/10126/duke-rebounds-its-way-to-title-game |title=Duke rebounds its way to title game – College Basketball Nation Blog – ESPN |publisher=Espn.go.com |date=March 4, 2010 |access-date=April 4, 2010}}

;2009–10

The team's rebounding and defense improved with him in the lineup in 2009–10.{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/15/SPDB1CFR3N.DTL |title=South regional |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=March 15, 2010 |accessdate=March 21, 2010 | first=Vittorio | last=Tafur}} In February 2010, he had a career-high 17 rebounds in his first career start against Maryland, cementing his spot in the starting lineup.{{cite web|url=http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/career-highs.php?playerid=520 |title=The Official On-Line Home Of Duke Statistics |publisher=GoDuke.StatsGeek.com |date= |accessdate=April 4, 2010}} He was a key supporting player of the team, and was 7th in the ACC with 7.7 rebounds per game (and 2nd on the offensive boards, with 3.5 rebounds per game).{{cite web |url=http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2009-2010/confldrs.html#conf.wki |title=Atlantic Coast Conference Official Athletic Site – Men's Basketball |publisher=Theacc.com |accessdate=April 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113130111/http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2009-2010/confldrs.html#conf.wki |archive-date=January 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|author=Ryan Fagan |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/college-basketball/article/2010-03-14/duke-will-go-far-supporting-cast-takes-it |title=Duke will go as far as supporting cast takes it – Ryan Fagan – College Basketball |publisher=Sporting News |date=March 14, 2010 |accessdate=March 21, 2010}} Per 40 minutes of play, he averaged 16.8 rebounds.{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204922369 |title=Game Notes: vs. Butler, April 5, 9:21 PM, CBS – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site |publisher=GoDuke.com |date= |accessdate=April 5, 2010}} Zoubek led the NCAA in pace-adjusted offensive rebounding at 7.8 per 40 minutes for the season and is second in this category for the past decade - only DeJuan Blair of Pittsburgh has put up better numbers.[http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Brian-Zoubek-1136/ DraftExpressProfile: Brian Zoubek, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook] He ended his career 4th on Duke's all-time list in offensive rebounds (276), and in his senior year set the school's single-season record of 145.{{cite web |last=Tysiacktysiac |first=Ken |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/04/1357007/ncca-championship-duke-hot-shooting.html |title=Observations: Duke hottest shooting team in semifinals |publisher=CharlotteObserver.com |date= |accessdate=April 5, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/misc.php?playerid=520 |title=The Official On-Line Home Of Duke Statistics |publisher=GoDuke.StatsGeek.com |date=April 6, 1988 |accessdate=March 29, 2010}} He was also named to the All-ACC academic team.{{cite news|last=Viera |first=Mark |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hokies-journal/2010/03/ben_boggs_named_to_all-acc_aca.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006204458/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hokies-journal/2010/03/ben_boggs_named_to_all-acc_aca.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 6, 2012 |title=Hokies Journal – Ben Boggs named to all-ACC academic team |publisher=Voices.washingtonpost.com |date=March 3, 2010 |accessdate=March 21, 2010}}

Explaining his resurgence after suffering through foot injuries his sophomore and junior years, he said:

It's a process. A lot of days in the gym, a lot of sweat, a lot of hatred toward [assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski] for all the stuff he put me through [laughing]. But it was all worth it. It's hard to see the future in all the work you put in. How's it going to help you, and is it worth it? It is. This really proves that.{{cite web|url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204922483 |title=AP: Zoubek Comes Up Big for Duke – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site |publisher=GoDuke.com |date= |accessdate=April 5, 2010}}

Teammate Jon Scheyer said: "He's a player you love to play with and you hate to play against. He's just really physical. He's such a big body. Even if he doesn't mean to, you run into him. And you really feel it."{{cite web|author=Matt Crossman |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/college-basketball/article/2010-03-27/duke-shakes-loose-zoubek-sticks-it-friends-foes |title=Duke shakes loose as Zoubek sticks it to friends, foes – Matt Crossman – College Basketball |publisher=Sporting News |date=March 27, 2010 |accessdate=April 1, 2010}}

=Statistics=

Freshman

Games: 32, PPG: 3.1, RPG: 2.2, APG: 0.2, FG%: 52.4%


Sophomore

Games: 25, PPG: 3.8, RPG: 3.8, APG: 0.5, FG%: 59.4%


Junior

Games: 36, PPG: 4.1, RPG: 3.7, APG: 0.4, FG%: 57.5%

Senior

Games: 40, PPG: 5.6, RPG: 7.7, APG: 1.0, FG%: 63.8%

Professional

Brian Zoubek went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft along with teammate Jon Scheyer.

On July 1, 2010, Zoubek was signed by the New Jersey Nets to a contract.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/nets/news/Uzoh_Zoubek_Release_100701.html|title=Nets Sign Uzoh and Zoubek|work=NBA.com|date=July 1, 2010|accessdate=July 1, 2010}} He was later waived on October 22, 2010.[http://www.thehoopsmarket.com/news/new-jersey-nets-waive-brian-zoubek.aspx New Jersey Nets waive Brian Zoubek] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310232204/http://www.thehoopsmarket.com/news/new-jersey-nets-waive-brian-zoubek.aspx |date=March 10, 2012 }} TheHoopsMarket.com. Retrieved October 23, 2010.

After basketball

After working with a technology start-up for a year, Zoubek decided to follow his own dreams and open his own bakery, named Dream Puffz, which specializes in cream puffs.{{cite web|last=Brennan|first=Eamonn|title=Brian Zoubek, cream puff connoisseur|url=https://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/59520/brian-zoubek-cream-puff-connoisseur}} Dream Puffz opened in Haddonfield, New Jersey on July 30, 2012. However, Zoubek shut down Dream Puffz on February 16, 2013 to pursue real estate opportunities. Zoubek said he is in negotiations to sell the rights to the Dream Puffz name.{{cite web|last=Beaton|first=Andrew|title=Brian Zoubek closes cream puff shop Dream Puffz|url=http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/brian-zoubek-closes-cream-puff-shop-dream-puffz|work=The Duke Chronicle|accessdate=February 22, 2013}}

See also

References

{{reflist|2}}

Further reading

  • {{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Kelli |title=Big Help: The rise of Brian Zoubek as a force around the basket, at both ends, comes just in time for surging Duke |page=31 |newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=March 15, 2010}}