"He's impossible to gameplan for": ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg names Purdue's Zach Edey as only obstacle in Dan Hurley and UConn's dominance
The UConn Huskies men's basketball team has been the dominant team in college basketball this season. They are the reigning national champions, and are the heavy favorites to retain the title.
The Huskies opening in the NCAA tournament has been successful, having beaten Stetson and Northwestern on their way to a rematch of last year's final between San Diego State. The Huskies would also win this game, putting them into the Elite Eight and a step closer to retaining their title.
However, ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said that the only person that could stand in the Huskies way of a national championship is the Purdue Boilermakers' Zach Edey.
"(Purdue) are the best team in the country.. (Edey) is impossible to gameplan for.. because you haven't seen anything like him" (starting at 08:17)
Zach Edey is one of the strongest players in college basketball this year, and is also one of the tallest, standing at a height of seven feet, four inches.
This season, Edey has averaged 24.5 points per game and is the leader in all of Division I for this. He also averages 12 rebounds a game, which is the third highest in the country, and a field goal completion rate of 62.3%
This high level of success, alongside his tall height and unique style of play in which defenses have struggled to stop him scoring has made Zach Edey one of the main reasons why the Purdue Boilermakers are a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, and the biggest threat to UConn in their hunt to retain their title.
A meeting between Edey and the Huskies can only happen in this year's March Madness final as they are on opposite sides of the bracket. This means that Zach Edey could be in the way of the UConn Huskies winning back to back national championships.
Who is Zach Edey?
Zach Edey is 21 years old and was born in Toronto, Canada. Before he started his basketball career at the age of 15 years old, Edey played Baseball as well as Ice Hockey, the most popular sport in Canada. But his height made playing baseball somewhat impractical, meaning that Edey started to fully focus on his basketball career.
Edey then moved from Toronto to Florida to play at the IMG Academy. He started out on the second team but was quickly able to make his way into the main team and face the best players in the nation.
Over the last four seasons, Edey has been able to become the dynamic player. However, despite all of his individual success, the furthest Purdue have gone in the NCAA tournament is the Sweet 16.
If Zach Edey and the Boilermakers are to go any further, not only would it be uncharted territory for Edey, but it will bring him closer to winning a national championship in his final attempt before entering the NBA next season.