It would be easy for Purdue basketball big man Zach Edey to let his mind wander toward the future and what could, potentially, be on the horizon in the NBA.
And, for good reason.
Edey is the reigning National Player-of-the-Year and has helped lead Purdue basketball to back-to-back Big Ten championships ahead of today’s second round matchup against 20th ranked and 8th seed Utah State.
But, Edey is not focused on the future. Instead, he is soaking up the present, as he looks to lift the Boilermakers past a tough Utah State program.
“My main goal out here all year has just been to help Purdue. It’s never been to try to become an NBA player right now. I think there’s time for that. I think I have plenty of basketball left in my career to get to there. Right now, I’m focused on Purdue, focused on winning championships, and I am focused on winning basketball games with my teammates,” Edey told the media Saturday.
Last season, Edey tested the NBA Draft waters and listened to what teams thought he could improve on before returning to Purdue basketball. And, he got to work, not for the future in the NBA, but the future with the Boilermakers in March and April.
“I took some things in the off-season, obviously, that probably would help my draft stock and help Purdue like guarding in space, guarding a ball screen, getting quicker on my feet, playing out of the pick and roll more, setting better screens, stuff that will help Purdue and my NBA, but I’m really focused on Purdue right now,” Edey said.
That is music to the ears of Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter, who knows Utah State will be focused on Edey.
Purdue basketball knows Utah State will try to limit Edey
As has been the case all season, Painter and the Boilermakers know Utah State will try to do different things to limit what Edey can do offensively and try to get him in foul trouble.
According to Painter, there’s two things that can happen.
“You can watch who they’ve doubled. Even though there is not guys like him in their league, there’s some guys in their league. They have an All-American in their league at 6’8″, 6’9″ who is a different type of player. So you can watch them, how they have dealt with low post players, even though the game doesn’t present that as much as it used to say 10, 15 years ago,” Painter said.
The second thing is Utah State could show Purdue basketball something it has not shown before.
“And, I know it’s a quick turnaround, but they weren’t preparing for Purdue going into the TCU game. They’re preparing for TCU. So now they’ve got 48 hours. So you look at what they do, and this is how you handle any opponent, you see what they do, you think that’s what they’re going to do, but you also prepare, which we just did, for a lot of different things,” Painter said.
Purdue basketball, Edey has to be strong with the ball
Regardless of what Utah State tries to do to limit Edey, Painter said one thing has to happen with the Boilermakers.
“It really comes down to decision making on his part, and then our guys getting where they’re supposed to be. For us, it’s taking care of the basketball and him getting the ball where he needs to get it. When we take care of the basketball and we keep getting quality shots, we really help ourselves,” Painter said.
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