Despite a “junior” season in the NCAA concluded with averages of 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, which allowed him to win the “Player Of The Year” trophy, Zach Edey decided to withdraw his name from the 2023 Draft and return to Purdue at the start of the school year to play his “senior” season.
Engaged in the 2023 Draft while leaving himself the possibility of withdrawing his candidacy and returning to university, the Canadian Boilermakers player is nevertheless one of the rare pivots with an “old school” profile on the university circuit whose projection in the NBA is rather reassuring. Very tall (2m23), he is indeed surprisingly mobile for a player of his size (133kg), and has a good touch near the circle and at mid-distance, as he was able to show during the “Pro Day” from his agency Priority Sports, at the Draft Combine. Not to mention its wingspan of 2m36 (!), rather interesting to defend the “pick-and-roll” and provide a deterrent against the circle among the pros.
Purdue’s Zach Edey showed off his mobility, 7’10 1/2 wingspan, shooting potential and finishing ability in front of quite a few NBA executives at the Priority Sports Pro Day in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/u48p9MMGym
—Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 19, 2023
But despite these findings of optimism regarding his transition to the NBA, Zach Edey has therefore decided not to take the plunge. Surely because its projection in the 2023 Draft peaks in the second half of the second round, where contracts are not guaranteed and the chances of winning in an NBA workforce are ultimately quite slim…
Especially since in the NCAA, in addition to a comfortable sporting situation as leader of Purdue on both sides of the field, the native of Toronto also has everything to gain financially. By signing sponsorship contracts, possible thanks to the NIL (“Name, Image & Likeness”), Zach Edey can indeed afford next season sums of money much higher than those he would receive as a second round. of Draft this year.
” It is definitely a factor », he also said about it during the Draft Combine, before making his decision. ” If I come back [à l’université]Purdue will help me find the right deals to be financially comfortable. »
