Zach Edey, reigning National Player of the Year, will officially forego the NBA draft to return for another season at Purdue.
ESPN’s prospect rankings had the 7-foot-4 prospect at No. 47 ahead of the 2023 NBA draft. That would slot him as a late second round selection. This decision appears to be a smart financial decision, as Edey will hope to benefit from his name image and likeness at the college level for a year, before turning professional. Many NBA scouts don’t project the old-school big man to translate well to the NBA, but another collegiate year may help him develop a stronger outside shooting game.
How this helps Purdue
The Purdue Boilermakers has an outstanding year in college basketball this past season, winning the Big Ten regular season title and tournament title. Edey averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game last season. Edey was named most outstanding player in the Big Ten tournament. They did, however, fail miserably in the NCAA tournament. Coming in as a 1-seed in the tournament, they lost to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round. They became only the second 1-seed to lose in the first round, after Virginia lost in 2018 to 16-seed UMBC.
Purdue returns their entire starting lineup for next season, so the expectations will be as high as ever. Head coach Matt Painter will have a plethora of talent, as they’ll add four star forward Myles Colvin as well.
Purdue will likely be the favorites to repeat their Big Ten regular season title, and have a chance at another conference championship. Expect Zach Edey to have another dominant season in college basketball in 2023-24.
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