Zach McRoberts

Photo: IUHoosiers

Zach McRoberts is an American basketball player from Carmel, Indiana. McRoberts played one season at the University of Vermont and three seasons at Indiana University. After his year at Vermont, McRoberts actually quit basketball and enrolled as a student at IU. McRoberts later decided to restart his career and became a walk-on with the Hoosiers. He soon became an integral part of the team’s defense and provided leadership to several young squads. In 2018-2019, he was named a team captain, after a player vote.

Zach McRoberts Biography

  • Name: Zach McRoberts
  • Position: Guard
  • Nationality: USA
  • Age: 29 years old
  • Birthday: August 15, 1995
  • Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
  • High School: Carmel High School
  • Height: 6’6″ (198 cm)
  • Weight: 210 lbs (95 kg)
  • Seasons: 3 (2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019)
  • Jersey: #15
  • NBA Draft: 2019 / Undrafted

Player Awards and Accolades:

  • 2018-2019 Team Captain

Zach McRoberts Seasons with the Hoosiers

2016-2017 Indiana Basketball Season
Tom Crean (9th Season)
18-16 (7-11 Big Ten)
11th Place Big Ten
🏅 NIT First Round
2017-2018 Indiana Basketball Season
Archie Miller (1st Season)
16-15 (9-9 Big Ten)
7th Place Big Ten

2018-2019 Indiana Basketball Season
Archie Miller (2nd Season)
19-16 (8-12 Big Ten)
9th Place Big Ten
🏅 NIT Quarterfinals

Zach McRoberts Indiana University Career Statistics

GP GS MIN AVG FG FGA PCT 3PM 3PA PCT FT FTA PCT OFF DEF TOT AVG PF FO AST AST/G T/O BLK STL PTS AVG
2016-2017 31 3 350 11.3 9 27 0.333 4 12 0.333 2 2 1 13 32 45 1.5 45 0 29 0.9 8 6 12 24 0.8
2017-2018 28 17 613 21.9 27 63 0.429 13 33 0.394 11 16 0.688 35 60 95 3.4 66 3 33 1.2 18 4 37 78 2.8
2018-2019 26 5 357 13.7 8 26 0.308 4 19 0.211 0 0 0 7 48 55 2.1 27 0 14 0.5 8 1 14 20 0.8
Career 85 25 1320 15.5 44 116 0.379 21 64 0.328 13 18 0.722 55 140 195 2.3 138 3 76 0.9 34 11 63 122 1.4

Zach McRoberts High School Career

At Carmel High School, McRoberts was a 2-time state champion (2012 and 2013) and an Indiana All-Star (2014). He was known for his defensive prowess and his willingness to battle for rebounds.

Photo: IndyStar

Carmel coach Scott Heady later reflected on McRoberts’ high school career saying, “Zach’s always been his own guy… He just kind of found his own niche, knew he was gonna do whatever he has to do to help his team win.”

McRoberts committed to Vermont. He also had offers from Lipscomb, Miami (Ohio), and Northern Kentucky.

Zach McRoberts College Career

Vermont

At Vermont, McRoberts appeared in 27 games, posting 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 20 minutes per game.

Photo: Crimson Quarry

Then, McRoberts decided to leave the program and leave basketball altogether. It was reported the summer after his freshman season that McRoberts was leaving to “pursue other interests” and would be enrolling at Indiana University as a student.

UVM coach John Becker said at the time that it would be a “big loss” for the program and that McRoberts had a chance to be a starter for the Catamounts in the upcoming season.

Becker stated, “His heart wasn’t in it anymore, didn’t want to play basketball… It’s something he’s been thinking about for a long time now, dating back to high school. For whatever reason, he felt that way again this off-season…He just wants to be a normal student.”

The Vermont coach also added “I love the kid.”

Indiana 

McRoberts began his time in Bloomington as a student, not a player. Even when he was just a regular member of campus, IU and then-Tom Crean assistant Tim Buckley reached out to see if he was interested in joining the program in some capacity. Yet, McRoberts held firm and rejected such advances.

But, a year after quitting the game, McRoberts decided to return to basketball. He missed not only the game but the camaraderie of being on a team. McRoberts reached out to Buckley and brought up a potential return. Near the end of his spring semester as a student, Indiana brought McRoberts in for an intensive 80 minute workout. McRoberts passed the test and became a walk-on with the Hoosiers. 

“That year of just being a student, it kind of helped me realize that I sort of wanted to have that team aspect in my life… These guys at IU have been great for me,” noted McRoberts when he joined the team.

As soon as he rejoined the team, he was immediately in the rotation that fall and appeared in 31 games in his first season in the cream and crimson.

Photo: Indiana University Athletics

While McRoberts never averaged more than 2.8 points per game at IU, he always found a way to help the squad. McRoberts was often lauded for his tenacious defense. He was also always held in high regard for being a hard-working player, willing to do the team’s dirty work from fighting for rebounds to diving for loose balls.

“You don’t have to score a lot of points to be a terrific teammate, to impact the game,” said coach Archie Miller.

Miller continued to praise McRoberts, saying, “I would think any coach in the country would like to have a guy like Zach… He embodies the team every single day. Doesn’t get the credit that probably a lot of people would want. He earned every minute that he got, and I think you saw a guy help our team get better.”

For the 2018-2019 season, McRoberts was named a team captain, after a player vote.

Zach McRoberts’ Family

McRoberts comes from a generational basketball family. His brother Josh was a Duke standout and longtime NBA player. Zach’s father, Tim, scored over 1,200 points at Butler. And, Zach’s grandfather, Ken Pennington, also played at Butler and later coached high school basketball (Mooresville, Rochester, and Rushville).

Zach McRoberts’ Family

McRoberts comes from a generational basketball family. His brother Josh was a Duke standout and longtime NBA player. Zach’s father, Tim, scored over 1,200 points at Butler. And, Zach’s grandfather, Ken Pennington, also played at Butler and later coached high school basketball (Mooresville, Rochester, and Rushville).

Zach McRoberts Videos and Highlights

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