INDIANAPOLIS – If you wonder if there really is someone out there of any consequence who has claimed Purdue’s 7-4 All-American center, Zach Edey, is not really an outstanding college basketball player but merely taller than everyone he plays, it takes some work to find the evidence.
There are some random YouTube videos that pose the question. For all we know, they come to the (proper) conclusion that Edey is both unbelievably tall and astonishingly good at basketball.
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There was a column in the Washington Post by Candace Buckner, one that doesn’t draw any firm conclusion but does quote talk host Dan LeBatard as saying Edey will be “terrible” in the NBA and suggests one possible explanation for his success as a collegian is “he simply stood there and looked like the all-star any tall human being would against a Nerf hoop.”
In an NCAA Tournament news conference, though, the person with the question and the microphone need not cite the identity of the sources making such claims. So that’s how it went down.
Question: “Zach finishes with 54 points and 35 rebounds in two games here in Indianapolis. You see people around the country, even fans, but even people that cover the game say he's just tall. What would you say to the people that say that that and are only looking at the size and not just the game?”
Purdue coach Matt Painter: “Yeah, they just shouldn't cover basketball.
“I just think everybody should take tests on their knowledge of what they're doing. I think all coaches should take a test so they understand refereeing, and I think all referees should take a test so they understand coaching, and I think all journalists should have to take a basketball quiz or test or anybody that tweets, they should have to be able to do it. If they say something so moronic as that, they should have to have a probationary status where they can't tweet for like three months.
“I think it'll help society. Just try to knock out the fools, so they don't have to meet at the local Walmart and say things that don't make any sense.”
“They just shouldn’t cover basketball” 😳
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
Matt Painter on people who think Zach Edey is good just because he’s tall 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/5S202WSCQF
We’ve pointed out this before. Edey, who earned The Sporting News Player of the Year award for the second consecutive time, is averaging 24.6 points and 12 rebounds for Purdue, which owns a 31-4 record. There were two players taller than him in the SEC this season. They averaged a combined 7.5 points and 7.1 rebounds this season and scored a combined 203 points. Edey alone has scored 836.
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That evidence is right there, but the questions still are asked.
“He's just performed like he has here the last couple years,” Painter said. “Three years ago he was a good player for us. He caused problems. He did things, but it wasn't where he is now. He's just continued to get better.
“We expect it. Like we go into games and like our staff always looks at me and says: What do we need to do? I said, ‘Well, Zach needs to get 20 rebounds’, and everybody always laughs at that. But you're not asking somebody to do something he can't do. He can do that.”