During an often frustrating, injury-plagued career at Duke, Brian Zoubek has found inspiration in a famous quote from Winston Churchill.
Zoubek, a 7-foot-1 senior center, had to overcome two foot surgeries before becoming a force as a rebounder, defender and screener who has helped propel the Blue Devils to the top of the ACC basketball standings.
His father, Paul Zoubek, is a trial lawyer who polishes his skills by reading speech books and gave Brian some Churchill material to read. One quote that has been attributed to Churchill stuck with Zoubek:
"If you are going through hell, keep going."
"That's what I've tried to keep in my head," Zoubek said. "When I was struggling, I just knew I didn't want to give excuses or transfer. I just wanted to stick it out. I'm glad I did."
Zoubek has helped fourth-ranked Duke (25-4, 12-2 ACC) become the ACC's top rebounding team heading into a critical conference game Wednesday night at No. 22 Maryland (21-7, 11-3).
In three of Duke's past five games, Zoubek has grabbed at least 11 rebounds. That includes a 16-point, 17-rebound effort on Feb. 13 in a 77-56 win over Maryland at Duke.
But until this season, his college career had mostly been disappointing. As a senior at Haddonfield High in New Jersey, he was rated the No. 38 player in his class by Scout.com, ahead of such college center standouts as Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet, who went on to become the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, the second-leading scorer in the country this season.
Zoubek played sparingly as a freshman and had foot surgery before his sophomore and junior seasons. Paul Zoubek said recovering from a broken weight-bearing bone can be especially difficult for somebody who is 7-1 and 260 pounds.
"We literally had him in a room at our house for 10 or 12 weeks with his foot up both of those years, because he couldn't do anything," Paul Zoubek said.
But when you're one of the tallest players ever to play for a storied program such as Duke and trying to overcome an injury, there's no place to hide on the court. Your mistakes are beamed into living rooms across the nation on television.
A smaller player who is struggling might fade quietly in his seat on the bench, far from the coaches. When a guy the size of Zoubek can't find his way, he becomes the Hindenburg, the Titanic and the Spruce Goose all wrapped into one in the eyes of critics.
"It hasn't been easy in this Internet age of the kind of criticism that can come to young men that's come over the last couple years," Paul Zoubek said. "He's persevered through that. Instead of running away from it, he stayed in there and kept fighting. And we're proud of him for that."
Zoubek said he never considered transferring from Duke because he never lost faith in the academic and athletic reasons that he chose the school.
His senior season got off to a promising start in terms of production despite limited minutes, but foul trouble prevented him from making a big impact.
Because he was healthy, though, his stamina improved. He was able to move without fouling, and his minutes increased.
"I had to get my own confidence," Zoubek said. "I would rush in the post, and therefore my feet would move a little faster and I would travel. Or I would throw up something that wasn't strong, and it's just having poise out there on offense."
Although Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler remain the focal points of Duke's offense, Zoubek plays a key role as a defensive intimidator.
He leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game and is Duke's best screener, according to coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"He understands his value whether he's scoring or not," Krzyzewski said. "... He understands he's like the lineman that opened up the hole for the guy who goes into the end zone for the touchdown. He takes pride in that."
Most of all, Zoubek takes pride in the perseverance that put him in position to set those screens after years of disappointment.
