What weighs 305 pounds, has a seven-foot-seven wingspan, and is almost seven and a half feet tall? That would be Canadian-born college basketball superstar Zachary Edey.
Edey plays center for the Indiana-based Purdue Boilermakers, one of 14 teams in the Big Ten Conference. This is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States.
The Purdue Boilermakers are a big freaking deal. Edey’s team earned the No. 1 seed in the East Region of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Tournament, commonly known as March Madness.
The esteemed ranking came after the Purdue Boilermakers won the Big Ten Tournament and had a 29-5 record heading into March Madness.
In case basketball isn’t your forte, seed refers to a team’s ranking in a region to help decide on playoff matchups for a tournament.
Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Year Award this season. He averaged 22.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.
With these skills, Edey was named a first-team AP All-American player, a title reserved for outstanding US athletes competing at the collegiate level.
Edey was one of five players picked for the award. However, he was the only player to appear on all 58 ballots, making him a unanimous pick.
Unfortunately, the Purdue Boilermakers’ March Madness run was short-lived. Edney’s team lost its first round against No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson 63-58.
The loss will go down in history; Purdue now joins Virginia as the only No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in tournament history.
While the Purdue Boilermakers may have been humiliated by its early exit, Edey walked away with a personal victory. Edey earned himself AP Player of the Year for his outstanding performance this season. Not many Canadians are named the best player in North America.
“The season ended in disappointment, which really sucks, but it’s always nice to win individual accolades…I’ve seen my game grow every year. AP Player of the Year is a great feeling, it just kind of stinks the way the season ended,” Edey told ESPN.
In addition to AP Player of the Year, Edey won the John R. Wooden Award and has been crowned the nation’s top men’s college basketball player.
Edey fought tooth and nail for this award, dominating his competition. Teams like Marquette, Gonzaga, and Duke stood no chance against the giant.
However, with all of his success, Edey is now faced with a decision.
His position as AP Player of the Year and latest Wooden Award will attract interest from many professional teams. Edey must now decide whether or not he will stay with Purdue or go pro and make himself available in the NBA draft.
“If there was no money involved, I would stay at Purdue in a heartbeat…But there is, and I have to make the best decision for me,” said Edey.
To Edey, the Purdue Boilermakers are more than just a team. They are family. But whatever the decision, Edey’s coaches and teammates want the best for him.
But if he leaves, perhaps the Canadian will get drafted by his hometown Toronto Raptors.
