A video involving Zach Edey has gone viral on social media recently and it's not about his excellence on the court for Purdue. The video, which has spread like wildfire, shows Edey entering a room with a young woman in what appears to be a party of some sort.
It almost seemed inevitable to me that something about Edey was going to pop up online, considering how well he has been playing at the NCAA tournament. In the past, we have seen old tweets of college players being dug up when they shine at the tournament, which is what happened to Donte DiVincenzo in 2018.
Edey is not going to get a whole lot of privacy from here on out and should expect to be recorded whenever he is in a public space, no matter how wrong that is. As for what might have happened in that room, I'll leave that to your imagination.
What we do know all about, is Edey's outstanding play on the court. The 21-year-old recorded a career-high 40 points to go with 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block to lead Purdue to a 72-68 win against Tennessee in the Elite Eight.
Thanks to their big man, the Boilermakers are now in the Final Four for the first time since 1980. Only the NC State Wolfpack stand in their way of playing in the National Championship Game for the first time since 1969.
Purdue had been somewhat written off prior to the tournament, after their shocking elimination in the first round at the hands of Fairleigh Dickinson last year. Edey has ensured there wouldn't be another letdown. He is now averaging 30.0 points, 16.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game in the tournament.
That performance against Tennessee meant Edey became the first player to record at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in multiple games in a single NCAA tournament since 1977. It has been a remarkable run for the Canadian and it'll be interesting to see if he can cap it all off by leading Purdue to their first-ever NCAA championship.
Zach Edey Has Been Projected To Be A Lottery Pick By ESPN
While Edey has shone at the college level, he was not viewed as someone who would make much of an impact in the NBA for the longest time. Well, that seems to have changed following his recent exploits, with ESPN projecting him to be selected with the 14th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.
It was just last week that an NBA scout had thrown shade at Edey by comparing him to Boban Marjanovic, and there certainly seems to be a huge split in opinion when it comes to the 7'4" big man.
While I think the scout might have been a bit too harsh, I certainly don't think a team should draft Edey that high. He will struggle to guard at the perimeter in the NBA and would be targeted on a nightly basis by opponents.
Edey also does most of his damage in the post and doesn't have an outside shot as of now. In today's NBA, teams are looking for bigs who can shoot and be competent when it comes to guarding at the perimeter and he can't do either. I could be proven wrong, of course, but as things stand, selecting him in the lottery looks like a mistake.
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