Ralph Sampson for men, Candace Parker, Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart or recently Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark for women. Very few people have won the title of best NCAA player, the John R. Wooden Award, for two years in a row. To this list of basketball stars was added Zach Edey. The Purdue pivot flew through the season individually, winning all of the first places in this prestigious award. Enough to ensure a bright future? It's anything but so obvious.
Physically oversized as in the game at the university level, Zach Edey will discover a radically different world. The Canadian is a claimed old-fashioned pivot, which franchises would have snatched away in the 90s. Thirty years later, some are cautious, between precedents of dominant interiors in the NCAA but incapable of shining in the pros, and serious questions on its adaptation to the current game.
Zach Edey is convinced: his style can take him far in the NBA. He has even started working on his outside shot and is showing encouraging first results. The bet to hold “The Next Big Thing” is tempting for a player who averaged 29.5 points and 14.5 rebounds during the NCAA tournament, taking his team to the final. And its qualities allow us to fantasize about a possible use, if only in sequences, and in a very specific role. Enough to reach the heights of this Draft?
Profile
Job : pivot
Size : 2m24
Weight : 135 kg
Team : Purdue Boilermakers (NCAA)
Stats 2023/24: 25.2 points at 62%, 12.2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.2 blocks in 32 minutes
Strong points
– The insane physique. Zach Edey is a force of nature, a rare colossus. As immense in height as in width – with his 2m41 wingspan, only Victor Wembanyama is better today in the NBA – the Canadian is almost immovable once he has taken up a position near the basket. In scoring, rebounding (30 double-doubles in 39 games this season), protecting the circle or setting a screen, he can contribute, even dominate, just by his presence. Zach Edey also seems durable, with only one missed game in four years in college, and despite significant playing time.
– Touch. In the low post, he does not just push his opponents, but has a complete range, between hook shooting, and finishing with both right and left hands. If he is not a shooter and almost never strays from the circle, his 71.1% on free throws (better for example than Domantas Sabonis or Alperen Sengun this season) should dissuade his opponents from systematically sending him to the line.
Weak points
– Mobility. His giant body necessarily limits him as he has to move away from the circle. The 22-year-old is unable to go out wide to “switch” in defense. He also does not have the liveliness to receive the ball at mid-distance and create against the game. A real downside to this limit, he has already shown this season real progress in lateral speed and agility, which his figures at Draft Combine confirmed (4th best pivot in “Lane Agility”), and he can absolutely cut towards the circle after setting a screen, which Purdue rarely exploited.
– Adaptation in today’s NBA. Zach Edey will be able to claim to be among the best players with his back to the basket as soon as he arrives in the league. The problem is that this style of play is anachronistic today. He will also have to adapt to the NBA pace, which is much more sustained, and to the 24-second clock, which will leave him much less time to install his game.
Comparison
Its morphotype evokes that of a Boban Marjanovicbut his game seems much more developed, between the low post qualities of Jonas Valanciunasthe hands of Brook Lopez at the start of their career, and the impact ofIvica Zubac.
Prognosis
Polarizing, even downright divisive, Zach Edey could be detained at any time between 10th and 30th position. The specialized media are no longer able to agree on his case, from 12th place for The Ringer at the 24th for CBS Sports.
