Yup, he’s back.
For the second year in a row—after Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe last year—the reigning men’s basketball national player of the year returned to college instead of going pro. Zach Edey, the 7-4 big fella by way of Canada, is back for one final season with the Purdue Boilermakers, who were ranked third in the AP Top 25 preseason poll and on a short list of favorites to finish the season cutting down the nets in Phoenix. Edey was named a unanimous AP preseason All-American, and up to this point in the season, he’s proving why.
While a repeat sweep of all the national player of the year awards would be nice, Edey’s decision to come back was about something much bigger than individual accolades. “It was coming back and playing with a team that really loves me, teammates that I love, a coaching staff that loves me, university that loves me and a fan base that loves me,” says Edey. “And then to be able to compete for every championship that there is in the country, that’s a pretty tough deal to turn down.”
After falling on the wrong side of a Cinderella story last year and losing to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Purdue has returned most of its core. The revenge tour starts and ends with the squad’s best player, Edey.
“I’m not too worried about trying to prove myself to people, that could get dangerous,“ he says. “I know who I am, I know what I bring, I know what I do. I’m focused on putting up numbers in the win column.”
Photos via Getty Images.
