It is a time of chaos in college basketball as players are either declaring for the NBA Draft or entering the transfer portal.
Two weeks after the end of the NCAA men’s basketball season, one of the collegiate game’s biggest players — figuratively and literally — has officially made his call.
Purdue center Zach Edey, the first unanimous National Player of the Year since UCLA’s Bill Walton in 1973, has submitted his paperwork and is eligible to be selected in this summer’s NBA Draft.
The Canadian native led all of NCAA men’s basketball with 24.9 points per game last season and finished third with 12.2 rebounds per contest. He is a projected late lottery pick.
Edey Felt the Time was Right to Join NBA
Edey played four seasons with the Purdue Boilermakers, but did have another year of eligibility due to his COVID-shortened freshman campaign in 2020-21. However, after finishing as the consensus national player of the year with a Boilermakers team that finished as the national runner-up on April 8, he felt like the time was now to turn pro.
The 7-foot-4 behemoth told ESPN regarding his decision:
“I felt like it was time. I showed that I’m a physical presence on offense this season,” Edey said. “I also showed I can play defense. I can guard in space, even defend guards.”
Other than winning a national championship — Purdue lost 75-60 to UConn in the March Madness final despite 37 points and 10 rebounds from Edey — the 21-year-old had pretty much accomplished everything he could at the collegiate level. He holds the Boilermakers all-time scoring record with 2,516 points and the team’s rebounding record with 1,321. Those point and rebound totals have not been seen combined from one player in over three decades.
How Does Edey Fit Into NBA?
It is not known exactly where Edey fits into an NBA that has greatly eschewed the concept of a traditional big man in the paint. Edey himself admits that there is still room for him to adapt, refine, and learn, and that there is more to his game than was displayed in college. The potential lottery pick did not begin concentrating on basketball until his sophomore year of high school in 2017. He told ESPN:
“What wins in college and the NBA are totally different. There are a lot of things I can do that people haven’t seen yet. I was focusing on impacting winning at Purdue and simplifying my game. Every year I’ve taken steps forward and there’s no reason I can’t keep getting better. I needed to be on the floor at all times. I had to be careful about fouling. I’m a better passer than people give me credit for. I was always looking to score when I got the ball down low, but I can make plays out of different situations more than I was able to show this year.”
Edey had initially declared his intention enter the NBA last year, but retracted that declaration and returned for one more college season. He is expected to be drafted in the top 20 picks when the NBA holds its 2024 draft on June 26-27. The first round will take place on the 26th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home of the Brooklyn Nets.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur.
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