Tag Archives: Brian Zoubek

Why did Duke basketball tip off at 9:40 against Creighton?

Posted on by
1 Reply

After second-seeded Duke basketball had an early 12:15 p.m. start time against Albany in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 on Friday, here’s something that was difficult to understand: why did the Blue Devils tip-off at 9:40 p.m. on Sunday against Creighton?

Duke’s 66-50 win against the Bluejays ended at around midnight and was followed by 30 minutes of media availability required by the NCAA, though it ended up being closer to 45. As a result, the team did not leave Philadelphia until around 1:30 a.m. to arrive at Raleigh-Durham International Airport at about 4 a.m.

The team didn’t get back to campus until around 4:20 a.m. The lucky players were probably getting in bed at around 5 a.m.

One person who noted the late timing was former Blue Devil Brian Zoubek, who tweeted about the timing of the game out of concern for the players as student-athletes.

Zoubek, who graduated in 2010 with a major in history, expanded on his thoughts to us.

“It’s not exactly conducive to being a student-athlete,” Zoubek said. “People say, ‘Oh, they’re not going to go to class on Monday.’ But no, they are going to go to class because Monday and Tuesday are the only days they’re going to be able to make class that week so they have to go.”

And it’s not as if the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia was too jam-packed with games on Sunday—there were only two games there, with the Florida Gulf Coast-San Diego State game tipping off at 7:10 p.m.

Neither Creighton nor Duke is a West Coast school, either, making the late start time even rougher on the student-athletes.

“There’s a big difference between having a 9:40 game during the season, during the week, when you can’t help but have games at that time,” Zoubek said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Making it even more difficult on the student-athletes, Zoubek noted, is that it’s extremely difficult to get work done while at the Tournament because of the excitement, adrenaline, media times and so forth.

Even after the games it’s difficult to work because of fatigue.

“When you play a game like that, it takes you hours and hours to wind down from the excitement and adrenaline, and it’s not like it’s that easy to sleep on a plane,” Zoubek said. “It’s really hard to study before a game because there’s so much anticipation and you can’t really concentrate. So a lot of the time the homework and the reading and all that stuff gets pushed off until after game, not only because it’s hard to concentrate but because you have walkthroughs, film. So the only time you have to do it is getting back on the plane at 2 a.m. and you crack open the books.”

Moreover, it’s not an easy time of year to be a student because final exams and final papers are creeping up in classes, Zoubek added. And in the end, you can see the weariness on the players’ faces, which is why having such a late start time on a Sunday didn’t make sense to the former Duke center and 2010 national champion.

“I remember a lot of times between the ACC Tournament, NCAA Tournament writing papers between meetings, waiting to get on the plane. Not only are you exhausted from the game physically, but mentally exhausted as well,” he said. “That’s why at the end of the year you see athletes who have lost so much weight, their faces are gone…. It’s what you’re supposed to do, but they could help it out by being a little bit smarter.”

Brian Zoubek closes cream puff shop Dream Puffz

Posted on by
5 Replies

It began with a dream. And cream puffz.

Former Duke basketball player Brian Zoubek behind the register and talking with customers at Dream Puffz, his cream puff shop in N.J. (Photo credit: Daniel Carp/The Chronicle)

But Brian Zoubek’s shop “Dream Puffz” in Haddonfield, N.J. is no more, the former Duke basketball center announced on Twitter and Facebook today.

“After much contemplation, I have decided to close Dream Puffz to follow my growing interest in real estate and pursue another business opportunities,” Zoubek wrote on Facebook Wednesday morning. “It was an honor to open the business in the community and I look forward to remaining an entrepreneur.”

In the post, Zoubek said the shop sold more than 100,000 cream puffz, and that he has “been presented with a terrific real estate opportunity that will require my full attention.”

Zoubek began the project in May 2012, announcing his desire to build the shop in his home town of Haddonfield.

The shop opened July 30 amid a lot of fan fare, selling out every day of the first week.

Then, when Duke basketball played Temple at the nearby Izod Center in N.J., Zoubek brought members of the team Dream Puffz.

Oh, and having tasted them, they were pretty damn dreamy.

Review: The dreamiest of Puffz

Posted on by
1 Reply

Former Duke basketball center Brian Zoubek’s cream puff shop Dream Puffz opened last week. For more on the opening, read The Blue Zone’s post. Last week, The Chronicle’s Daniel Carp went to Dream Puffz to review the facility and the cream puffs.

Who doesn’t want to have a 7-footer make you cream puffs? Trekking out to Haddonfield, N.J. to sample Brian Zoubek’s creations was a unique dessert experience. I had no idea what to expect, but visiting Dream Puffz made me wonder whether or not cream puffs are the next big thing in baked goods, especially given the way specialty cupcake stores and froyo joints are spreading across the nation like wildfire.

It was nice to see Zoubek himself behind the counter in his quaint bakery. As he interacted with every customer and thanked them for traveling from both near and far, you could tell the former Duke center truly cares about forging personal relationships with his clientele.

Zoubek is also trying his hand at promotional events. The day I went to the store, every customer walked out with a copy of Duke’s 2010 national championship poster, signed by Zoubek himself.

At Brian Zoubek's Dream Puffz, he offers six different flavors of filling with the shells optionally covered in chocolate. Reviewer Daniel Carp's favorite filling was the Vanilla Bean.

Oh, and the food is good too. To ensure freshness, every puff is filled right in front of you in the store. The shells are moist and dense, and customers have the option of plain puffs or chocolate-topped shells. Although Zoubek will likely look to expand from his current array of six cream fillings, they do provide a variety that suits any mood. His current lineup consists of vanilla bean, banana wafer, cookies and cream, pistachio, strawberry and peanut butter.

Zoubek advertises his personal favorite as cookies and cream, which I thought was very good, but I was very pleasantly surprised by some of the simpler flavors. The strawberry filling was light and refreshing and went very well with the puff’s chocolate shell.

But the vanilla bean stole the show for me. Normally vanilla signifies plain and bland, but not at Dream Puffz. Apparently, Zoubek imports his vanilla beans from Madagascar, which accounts for the puffs’ rich flavor. That was the winner in my book, but with six flavors that capture very different tastes, chances are everyone has a different favorite.

When I walked out of the store, I thought Dream Puffz has an opportunity to catch on, though getting business off the ground isn’t easy. Zoubek will face some obstacles in the coming months, mainly keeping his store traffic up in the small town of Haddonfield. He hopes to expand to New York City, and I think this store’s future will hinge on finding the right market. The puffs aren’t cheap but at $1.40-$1.75 per sizable puff, are not exceedingly expensive either.

In the end, the food tastes good, and good food will sell. For most I’m sure a unique concept like this is something they’ll have to see to believe. But after I’ve seen Dream Puffz, I’m starting to feel like a believer.

Follow @DanielHCarp on Twitter

ZOU-BAKING II: Zoubek’s Dream Puffz opens

Posted on by
1 Reply

After months of planning, baking and testing, perfecting the recipe for his own cream puffs, Brian Zoubek has finally opened Dream Puffz, his own cream puff shop in Haddonfield, N.J.

Zoubek, a Haddonfield native, opened Dream Puffz last Monday, July 30, amid fanfare that helped him sell over 1,200 on his first day.

“We sold out everyday in the first week,” Zoubek said. “That’s a good problem to have.”

At Dream Puffz, Zoubek is no behind-the-scenes, keep-his-hands-clean type owner. Working alongside a chef he hired who went to culinary school nearby in Philadelphia, Zoubek displays a positional flexibility his 7-foot-1 frame never allowed on the basketball court, seamlessly moving from the kitchen, to the cash register, to schmoozing with customers.

To read our original piece on Zoubek and Dream Puffz, go to The Chronicle’s main page.

The former Duke basketball star, who as a senior was an integral member of the 2010 national championship squad, Zoubek proudly displays memorabilia from his Blue Devil days in the shop. Featuring pictures from the 2010 team, his No. 55 jersey and even a chair from the 2010 Final Four, Duke fans are undoubtedly welcome in Dream Puffz.

Former Duke basketball player Brian Zoubek behind the register and talking with customers at Dream Puffz, his cream puff shop in N.J.

But Zoubek does not forget his roots–as a native of the area,  his No. 55 jersey from Haddonfield Memorial High School also hangs framed on the wall. Fans from both his Duke and his high school careers have come into the shop and voiced their support for him, Zoubek said.

Still, his dreams are larger than one shop on a quiet street in Haddonfield. Inspired by niche desert trends that caught on in New York City such as Baked by Melissa, Zoubek hopes to expand there where his business can really take off. In order to do so, he is looking to hire a manager who can help him deal with the Haddonfield location while he deals with expansion possibilities.

“I’m looking to get everything down–get the model down and get the catering down–and then hopefully go up to New York and see how it goes up there,” Zoubek said. “That’s the ultimate goal and I think I’m well on my way.”

Zoubek has yet to have any of his former teammates as customers, but he will have the opportunity next week, he said, when Jon Scheyer and Steve Johnson are coming to visit him. Both were teammates on the 2010 national championship squad.

When they visit, they will get to choose from the six flavors of filling: very vanilla bean, luscious strawberry, pistachio, cookies and cream, banana and wafers and peanut butter. Additionally, Zoubek sells the shells either covered in chocolate or plain. The peanut butter, vanilla bean and cookies and cream have been the most popular so far, according to Zoubek.

But as a first-time business owner, the giant chef and entrepreneur has found that there is much more to being successful than making a tasty treat.

“You think you’ve solved the first 100 problems and then another 100 problems pop up,” Zoubek said. “Everyday is solving problems and if you don’t like that, don’t be an entrepreneur.”

One of those problems has been overcoming a cursed location, taking out a spot that has seen a high turnover of baker occupants.

“The place had a stigma in my town. There had been a couple of failed bakeries there. So we really had to come in an reimagine the space,” Zoubek said. “But people have been really happy with it so far.”

Check back later today to read The Chronicle’s Daniel Carp review the experience at Dream Puffz.

Follow @andrewlbeaton on Twitter

Scheyer gets a second shot at the NBA

Posted on by
Leave a reply

Members of Duke’s 2010 national championship team have slowly trickled their way into the NBA. Now, it appears it may be Jon Scheyer’s turn.

Scheyer, who nearly suffered a career-ending injury in 2010 when he tore the retina and damaged the optic nerve in his right eye, will compete for the Philadelphia 76ers in the Orlando Pro Summer League from July 9-13. The majority of the 13 members of his summer league team were undrafted as well, and will attempt to scrap their way to a training camp invite with Philadelphia or another NBA team. Just two members of the team the 76ers have fielded played for the team last season.

After going undrafted in 2010, Scheyer played for the Miami Heat in the Las Vegas Summer League before injuring his eye. Two months after his eye was surgically repaired, Scheyer was invited to training camp with the Los Angeles Clippers, but was not in top form and failed to make the roster. After taking time away from the game for his eye to heal, Scheyer appeared in 16 games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBDL, where he averaged 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He then spent most of 2011 in Israel competing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, though Scheyer did not see significant minutes and elected to return to the United States to pursue a possible career in the NBA.

Scheyer will report with the rest of 76ers to Orlando July 5 to begin workouts. The team will play a five-game schedule against the Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons.

Members of that 2010 national championship team have had varying success reaching the NBA. Nolan Smith was drafted in 2011 and finally made his professional debut after the lockout ended. After being selected in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft by Pistons, Kyle Singler decided to stay in Spain for the entire year and will make his debut with Detroit next fall. Lance Thomas spent more than a year in the D-League before earning a contract with the New Orleans Hornets.

Other members of the team, such as center Brian Zoubek, who is opening a cream puff shop in New Jersey, are no longer playing basketball professionally.

Follow @DanielHCarp on Twitter

Christian Laettner addresses media at K Academy

Posted on by
1 Reply

At the 10th annual K Academy, Duke basketball’s five-day fantasy camp run by men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and former players, Christian Laettner spoke to the media about a variety of topics, including his aspirations to become a head coach and his relationships with members of the team.

Laettner has most recently been in the news for his legal troubles, according to the Wall Street Journal owing debtors up to $30 million along with partner Brian Davis.

This year he tried his hand at coaching, working as an assistant with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA Developmental League.

Below are excerpts from Laettner’s discussion with the media.

On the process of becoming a coach:

I hired an agent, Lonnie Cooper, out of Atlanta, so he’s trying to find me something, and that’s what you need when you’re trying to get into the coaching world…Lonnie’s on the job and a few other people are on the job and hopefully something will happen for me. And, if it doesn’t, hopefully I can go back to the D-League in the fall and work there.

On his first experience as a coach with the Mad Ants:

I learned a lot there. I had a blast. I loved it. It’s very enjoyable, very easy, very rewarding to be out there on the court. So, that was a lot of fun. I loved it except for being away from my wife and my kids.

On whether he would prefer to coach in the NBA or college:

I would say NBA most likely. That’s what I would choose if I could…. That pro level of basketball is what you always strive to reach and play at and coach and affect somehow someway. That’s why I’m attracted to the pro game. I loved it, even when I was on teams that weren’t very good, I still loved it. I loved the whole form of entertainment. I think that’s what would suit me best.

On being a more renowned college player but still wanting to coach in the NBA:

That might be the case but just because you’re more renowned for something doesn’t mean you like it better. And I loved the college experience but the pros is just a lot of fun.

On potentially coaching at Duke:

If the opportunity arose I would probably consider it. But they’ve got a long line and I don’t want to leap frog anybody or screw up the system in anyway. So, that’s a tough ‘if.’ I don’t see that happening, so I’m not even really thinking about that. Now, if they had Coach K and then one assistant maybe I’d consider that.

On his coaching style:

That’s a self-critiquing job and I don’t do that very often. As an assistant coach I tried to be friends with them more than anything–real respectful to them, have fun with them, goof around with them. And once they accepted me I might mention one or two things they can do a little better, like on a free throw or something. I think as an assistant coach, though, you just try to be friendly with them. Now, as a head coach it’s different, you can’t be friends with all of them. And that’s a whole different dichotomy there. But for this experience just try to be friends, support them, encourage them and push them.”

On how head coach Mike Krzyzewski affects him as a coach:

I think that’s probably 50 percent of what I deliver out there as a coach. He’s affecting every mannerism, the way you’re delivering your talk, your words, how you’re showing them things, defensive philosophies out there. He comes into play a lot. And like I said 50 percent of my overall coaching style I’m trying to replicate–not replicate–use as influence.

On his legal troubles and his relationship with Krzyzewski:

He’s somebody I confide in and ask for advice and suggestions from, yes. He’s been doing it for 20 years, ever since I left. He helps me in good times. He helps me in bad times. He helps me through everything and that’s the greatest resource he is to me.

On coming back to Duke for the K Academy:

To see all my buddies, old teammates, guys I looked up to when I was in high school, or guys I’ve been following since I left Duke is just a lot of fun. I think a lot of people love [the camp] because a lot of the same coaches keep coming back.

On working with current players at the K Academy:

I always do a little bit. I’ve been here three out of the last four years, when all the Plumlees were here and Zoubek and I’ve worked out with them a little…. The last time I worked out with anyone was with Mason, Miles and Zoubek a few years ago

On Mason Plumlee:

I think he’s doing great. I just think there’s a few things he can perfect so that he can be dominant. He is dominant sometimes. I know they would like to see him more dominant all the time and I think he can do that. He has the potential to do that.