Zach Edey’s Dominance This Season Makes Doubters Look Silly!
Edey is completely demolishing last year’s output. People have to make things up to make him look like he is “just tall!”
So, here we are, yet again!
Purdue is #2 in the most current AP Poll, after they fell to Nebraska in Lincoln, on January 9th. Really though, what’s happening now to make me think EVEN MORE is different?
Well, it’s pretty simple… Zach Edey is being so dominant, this season, that he’s making his haters look… silly!
Team Accomplishments So Far
There are so many things this team has already accomplished this year! They are accomplishing even more than what is expected, and you know what… they are making this a special season!
What has made this season, to this point, even more special, though?
- Could it be the SEVEN(!) Quad 1 wins?
- Could it be the ridiculous pre-conference schedule they went through undefeated, and now have won FIFTY straight non-conference games?
- How about every loss away from Mackey, they have to watch out for fans because they’re storming the court. This includes the Assembly Hall in Bloomington! You might think they are used to winning big games because fans always tell me they have 5 banners!
Does ANY of this make this year special? SURE IT DOES! The only thing is that parts of these things run into the past few seasons. We know how the past two seasons ended.
Added Swagger
So what is it this year? I’ve talked about all these varying things! The Boilers just seem like they have a different swagger about them! Their strut… led by the reigning National Player of the Year, Zach Edey!
His ability and output, this season is MUCH improved! They are as disguised as well as a 7’4″ man, in a Purdue sweatshirt, wearing sunglasses at a Pacers game!
Dalton and I even talked about the fact that we did NOT expect him to produce like this, this season!
Even in the team’s losses, he’s still dominant, and it’s becoming even harder to say, “He’s just tall!”
A Shoe-in For NPOY in 2022-23
Edey was an OBVIOUS choice for the Naismith National Player of the Year, last season. His improvement from his 2022 season to last season was immense. It caught so many off-guard that they couldn’t wrap their heads around him having this much talent and only having played five years of organized basketball.
Many discounted that he could be that good, and said that he was only accumulating the stats he got because “he is just tall!”
He averaged 22.3 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 60.7% FG, and 2.1 blocks! Fifth(!) year of competitive basketball! NO, that is NOT just being tall, that’s being an amazingly tall athlete who is finally coming into his own, and owning the men’s college basketball world!
Two-Time Naismith Award Winner?
We’re almost two-thirds through the ’23-’24 season, and there’s a familiar team in the top-5 of the AP poll! This week is the 29th straight poll the Boilermakers are in the top 5! That spans two-seasons, and is 17(!) weeks more than the second longest streak.
“Well, Sam, this is a team accomplishment, why are you putting this into the Edey category for him winning the Naismith Award a second time?”
Yes, I know, but look at his stats, this year! This year, Zach Edey makes haters look silly!
If he isn’t averaging 23 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 62.7% FG, Purdue probably isn’t sitting in the top-5. Would they be a top-10 team, maybe, but I don’t think they are #2!
His numbers are BETTER?! How does a “just tall” guy improve upon stats that were great a year ago?
It’s pretty simple, really. He’s only been playing organized basketball for only a few years, and he’s got a work ethic that NOBODY seems to match.
He’s improving at such a rate that when we get to the end of the season, the Purdue Boilermakers are cutting down nets before we hear “One Shining Moment,” and Zach Edey leaves Purdue as a two-time Naismith Award winner!
BOILER UP!!
