Purdue's Zach Edey on the verge of a rare feat
Following another dominant performance, Purdue center Zach Edey is on the verge of joining rare company.
In a 78-70 home victory against Wisconsin, the 7-foot-4, 300-pounder logged 25 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. This performance showed why he should win the Naismith Award, given to the best player in college basketball, for a second straight season.
The 21-year-old aims to become the third player to win the award multiple times, joining UCLA's Bill Walton (1972-74) and Virginia's Ralph Sampson (1981-83).
"But he should enjoy the experience of anything he gets because you only go through that life once," Sampson said of Edey, per Fox Sports' Michael Cohen. "It's only three of us in the fraternity, which is kind of crazy."
Purdue, meanwhile, is trying to make a deep NCAA Tournament run after getting bounced in the first round twice over the past three seasons. ESPN's Joe Lunardi listed the Boilermakers as the No. 1 overall seed in his latest bracket.
They'll need the big man to keep dominating to win a national championship. Through 30 games, he's second in the country in points (24.1) and rebounds (11.7).
Although he's one of the best players in college basketball, Edey isn't viewed as an elite NBA prospect. According to Tankathon, the Milwaukee Bucks will take him with the 35th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
"Analytically, what Edey is doing in college is off the charts," an Eastern Conference scout said, via Fox Sports' Ric Bucher. "But does that transfer? Right now, [Nikola] Jokic gets seven post-ups a game. [Joel] Embiid gets five. That's where Edey would be the most effective. But teams don't post up anymore because it hurts spacing."
Still, Edey keeps playing at a high level, which could raise his draft stock.
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