It has been a long journey for Purdue basketball big man Zach Edey from Canada to West Lafayette.
However, the road got a little longer, as Edey and Purdue basketball will cap the 2023-24 season 2,200 miles away from Edey’s hometown of Toronto in Phoenix, hopefully, cutting down the nets with a national championship. The Boilermakers advanced to the Final Four in Phoenix after turning back Tennessee, 72-66, Sunday.
“It’s been a long journey. Obviously I’ve been outside my country for the past five, six years, starting in 11th grade. To kind of end up where I am now, it’s amazing, but we still have a lot of basketball left to play,” Edey told the media Sunday after the win.
The “long journey” this season actually began last year when the Boilermakers lost to 16th seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament. After testing the NBA waters last year, Edey announced his return to Purdue basketball and has been on a mission as the leader of the Redemption Tour.
Many overlooked Edey before Purdue basketball took a chance
Edey’s story to Purdue has been well documented, as he wasn’t overly sought after coming out of IMG Academy.
While many schools overlooked Edey, Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter took a chance on him, something that was not forgotten by Edey after the win over the Volunteers Sunday in the Elite Eight.
“It’s amazing. I get to pay him back. Like there were so many coaches that looked over me, like you could — name a program, I could name a coach that looked over me. Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach, but he was at our practice, looked over me. It’s kind of been the story of my life. People have doubted me. People looked past me. Can’t do that anymore,” Edey said.
Since coming to Purdue basketball, Edey has worked and will leave as one of the greatest to ever don the old gold and black when it is all said and done.
Edey put in the work to become one of the greats for Purdue basketball
Along the way, Edey has improved in every facet of the game, according to Painter.
“He’s great. I am proud of him. He’s a much better passer and much better defensive player. I did think he would be good. I just didn’t know when. He had good hands, good feet, but he needed reps,” Painter said.
The Purdue basketball veteran coach said the one thing about Edey is he is always open on the offensive side and it is imperative his teammates get him the basketball.
“When he’s open, throw him the ball, but he’s always open. He’s like one of those standup freezers, always open. A lot of big guys get recruited and go places and they never throw them the ball. You want them to rebound and defend, but throw the basketball to them. Let them participate, but you have to do drill work. The adjustment took some time, but not a lot of time. He’s a two way player. I’ve never been around someone people have to gameplan for so much. He kept getting better. You like guys that play hard and are unselfish and about winning and those are his attributes. To have that elite size to go along with his skill level, you have the best player in the country,” Painter said.
Ask Painter what stands out about Edey through the years and he will smile and tell you it is how far Edey’s game has come from day one.
“When you see those clips and their first basket at Purdue, Zach Edey looks like a different person. The thing that jumps out to me about him is his competitive spirit. You get some big guys and they just get some bad calls. He plays hard, wants to win. The other thing is he didn’t get recruited very hard. He was a terrible passer when he got here and now he’s a great passer. When you have the ability to score and pass, you’ve raised the value to your team. He shows up. He’s had bad games, turned it over and some stinkers but it’s not from not competing. His legacy is through his development, his overall success and the success of our program. Most wins in Big Ten in last ten years,” Painter said.
Senior forward Mason Gillis echoed those sentiments about the Purdue basketball big man.
“You can tell he loves the game, you can tell he respects the game. The people around know what he does. He looks out for everybody. He’s a good guy in the gym. I don’t think we could ask for a better national player of the year,” Gillis said.
For Painter, seeing Edey help guide the Boilermakers to the Final Four is “fabulous.”
“It is fabulous. To be all time leading scorer and rebounder at a school like Purdue with great basketball tradition is unbelievable. For him to be able to do that and be humble — he is a good teammate, selfless, he’s competitive. He’s everything that you want in a player. I’ve never seen somebody so good get so much shit for no reason. It blows my mind. People his size are normally not good at basketball. He’s really good, so he gets a lot of attention but he stayed grounded. He keeps his composure. We’re proud of him for everything he has accomplished,” Painter said.
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