Zach Edey NBA draft: Will the Purdue center get drafted?
Zach Edey is having a strong season, aiming to lead the Purdue Boilermakers to their first national title. The 2023 consensus National Player of the Year achieved a milestone. He is now the sixth player in Big Ten history to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. This occurred during the Boilermakers' 68-60 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Edey finished with 26 points while shooting 9-12 from the field and 8-13 from the free-throw line. He added 12 rebounds, one assist and four blocks in 36 minutes of action. Entering the matchup, Zach Edey was averaging 22.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 62.1% from the field and 74.6% from the free-throw line.
Take a look at whether or not he could hear his name called in the 2024 NBA Draft below.
Will Zach Edey get selected in the 2024 NBA Draft?
Zach Edey has had a strong collegiate career as a member of the Purdue Boilermakers. The senior center hardly played as a true freshman, averaging 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in just 14.7 minutes per game while shooting 59.7% from the field and 71.4% from the free-throw line.
Despite playing just 19.0 mpg the following season, Edey broke out, averaging 14.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.2 spg and 1.2 bpg while shooting 64.8% from the field and 64.9% from the free-throw line. In his junior season, he averaged 22.3 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.2 spg and 2.1 bpg while shooting 60.7% from the field and 73.4% from the free-throw line. He was named a consensus first-team All-American and the consensus 2023 National Player of the Year.
Following the season, Edey declared for the 2023 NBA Draft while retaining his college eligibility. Ultimately, he returned to the Boilermakers for his senior season. While he can return for a fifth season due to the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Edey is expected to enter the 2024 NBA Draft.
While he is expected to hear his name called, his draft status remains unclear. 2021 consensus National Player of the Year Luka Garza and 2022 consensus National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe each had similar profiles to Edey as big men who spent four years in college. Garza, who, unlike the other two, can shoot from deep, was drafted 52nd overall while Tshiebwe went undrafted.
Zach Edey, however, is expected to be selected as the 2024 draft class is viewed as a much weaker class than last year's class when Tshiebwe failed to hear his name called. Both Garza and Tshiebwe have failed to make an impact in their brief careers.