As he exited Monday night’s national championship game against UConn., the look on the face of Purdue basketball center Zach Edey told the story.
There was disappointment.
Not the same disappointment Edey and the Boilermakers had experienced in their last trip to the NCAA Tournament, but disappointment of not finishing the drill, not winning a national title.
However, while Edey came up short of leading Purdue basketball to its first national title, there is no question what his legacy will be not only with the Boilermakers, but among the greats in college basketball.
Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter was asked where Edey ranks among the elites.
“When you look at his numbers against the greats, there is no question he’s in the conversation. But he’s also the winningest player at Purdue. We won our league in back-to-back years by multiple games. It’s the first time that’s happened in the Big Ten since I was in kindergarten. We got to the championship game after having a disappointing loss [in last year’s NCAA tournament]. He got to a Sweet 16. He went to four tournaments. I think that’s always what kind of separates everybody,” Painter said.
Edey captured back to back National Player of the Year accolades. He averaged 29.5 points and 14 rebounds per game in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Against UConn., Edey finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds as the Boilermakers fell 75-60.
Another thing Painter said that separates Purdue basketball’s big man from everyone else is the amount of crap he took from opposing fans and the professionalism he showed.
“The best player in college basketball becomes cartoon bad guy. That’s the way it is. There’s millions of basketball players who would love to carry that burden. I kept thinking when is he going to have a bad game and not show up? He always showed up. He is a very unselfish player. It’s hard to go through that, especially in today’s world. Amazing the way he’s grown and how he’s gone about it and stayed professional. People have no idea the burden you carry Young people who are successful have to go through a lot of stuff. He was superior dealing with adversity. He’s going to be a terrific NBA player,” Painter said.
Purdue basketball point guard Braden Smith echoed those sentiments.
“He gets more hate for no reason. For what? Because he’s out there dominating everybody. Given all the crap he’s taken, it’s just made me admire him more,” Smith said.
Edey came to Purdue basketball as the 436th ranked player in his class and helped resurrect a program that hadn’t experienced a Final Four in 44 years and hadn’t played for a national title since 1968. He will leave with his jersey retired and hanging in the rafters of Mackey Arena.
And, as Edey said, he has Painter to thank for all the memories.
“Paint is someone who gave me a chance. I’ve been trying for four years to pay him back for that. He believed in me when not a lot of coaches did. He gave me the ball when not a lot of coaches trusted me,” Edey said.
And, what does he think his legacy with Purdue basketball will be?
“That’s for Purdue to decide. For me the big thing is you can say whatever you want about me, how I played, but you never say I didn’t give it 100 percent every time I stepped on the floor,” Edey said.
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