Purdue’s Edey Draws Lots Of Attention In Every Which Way
You really have to feel for Purdue’s gigantic Toronto Tower Zach Edey.
It seems with each passing game Big Ten officials are having more and more difficulties officiating his games. Who can blame them? There just isn’t anyone of Edey’s size around.
At 7-foot-4, Edey is a once in a generational-type talent. Not that there haven’t been 7-footers that have come before him and will follow, but his massive 290-pound size makes him a mountain of a man and makes calling his games challenging to say the least.
With few exceptions, Edey always has a four- to six-inch height advantage over his opponent, and that’s when he’s single covered.
Edey often draws double- and triple-team coverage depending on what defensive strategy opponents throw at him.
Most opponents try multiple players on him, opting to use upwards of three players and if necessary their five personal fouls each to try and slow him down.
The inconsistency of officiating Edey is what drives most mad.
Opposing fans say Edey gets all the calls, while the Purdue faithful continually say he gets mugged on nearly every possession.
One Mackey Arena fan on Sunday had a sign that said “Being tall is a foul?”
“It gets old, it really does,” said Purdue head coach Matt Painter about the officiating towards Edey following his team’s home win Sunday over Maryland. “It’s really frustrating for Zach. He’s like a piñata out there. You guys been to a party lately where there’s a piñata? They hit them really hard and candy comes out. I don’t think there’s any candy inside Zach. Like as a coach, you don’t want to complain. Play the game and move on. But I feel for him. I’m somebody that, it’s going to have to get extreme before I get upset about stuff. And it’s just like, I think we’re past that.
“Zach drew seven fouls,” Painter explained. “For every time they call something, I guarantee I can go grab seven from the film that didn’t get called.
“You can’t be on the floor three or four times. You think he wants to be on the floor? You think if you’re 290 pounds, you’re just going to drop to the floor? They will call it and they started to call it and stopped. If they’re not going to call it, we just have to be able to play through it better.”
Statistically speaking, Edey’s personal foul numbers have declined in each of his three seasons at Purdue. Currently he is averaging 1.5 fouls per game, which is down from 2.0 a year ago and 2.3 as a freshman.
He has not fouled out of a game this season and has only been whistled for three personals in a game once this Big Ten season (the home loss against Rutgers). He did have four fouls in two nonconference games.
Following games, Edey’s arms show the battle scares of the post wars he’s endured for 40 minutes. Scraps and scratches can be seen up and down his arms occasionally with dried blood accompanying them.
Pundits from coast to coast especially those on pregame television broadcasts have devoted segments on how to guard Edey. Now, many have reached the point in simply throwing up their arms and saying you can’t.
I attended Edey and his Boilermakers’ two-point victory over Maryland and got an up close view of the action as I was seated in the front row right behind the scorer’s table.
Early in the game, Edey picked up a personal foul and Painter got him out prior the first TV timeout. Edey looked at Painter as he was walking to the bench and told the Boilermaker coach Maryland’s defenders were hanging all over me.
What else is new?
The Terrapins tried everything to slow Edey down, but in the end he still scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and grabbed 16 rebounds. Edey shot six free throws in the game, making four and was called for two fouls.
“You know you’re a good player when you have an average game and you get 24 and 16,” said Painter after the game. “Cause he was just okay today.”
Edey continues to be the frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors (incidentally Purdue’s last player to earn the honor was Glenn Robinson in 1994). He is averaging 21.5 points per game and 13.2 rebounds, shooting 61.4 percent from the floor in 31.4 minutes of action.
As dominate as Edey has been in the college ranks, there doesn’t appear to be a place for him in today’s NBA game.
Twenty or 30 years ago, Edey most certainly would be the No. 1 pick come this June. Today, incredibly you are hard pressed to find his name listed in either of the two rounds included on NBA mock draft boards.
Despite his incredible athleticism for a man of his size, Edey’s game doesn’t include an outside shot. He scores all of his points on the block. That doesn’t translate into today’s NBA run-and-gun, 94-foot up-and-down, launch triples from everywhere game.
It just doesn’t seem like Edey is a fit for the NBA. Hard to believe.
That’s great news for Purdue and Boilermaker faithful, and really bad news for opponents.
Barring something unforeseen, Edey will return to West Lafayette for his senior season in 2023-24.
Although it’s hard to imagine Purdue being any better than it already is (19-1 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 1 in the nation), the thought of the 7-4 monster returning along with every other starter plus the addition of top 50 recruit Myles Colvin and 7-3 Will Berg, who is redshirting this season, the future of Boilermaker basketball has never been brighter.
Edey and Co. return to action at 9 p.m. tonight as they face 11-8 Michigan in Ann Arbor (the game will be televised by FS1). Keep in mind, Purdue has lost seven of its last eight games in the Crisler Center.
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