Purdue’s Zach Edey named AP men’s player of the year

Zach Edeyspent the days following Purdue’s historic NCAATournamentloss lying low, his phone turned off, along withthe rest of the outside world.

Thedisappointing finish did little to diminish the season theBoilermakers big man had.

Dominating atboth ends of the floor during the regular season, Edey was anear-unanimous choice as The Associated Press men’s collegebasketball player of the year. Edey received all but one votefroma 58-person media panel, withIndiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the other.

“The seasonended in disappointment, which really sucks, but it’s always niceto win individual accolades,” Edey said. “It kind of validates yourwork a little bit. The last three years I’ve played here, I’ve seenmy game grow every year. AP player of the year is a great feeling,it just kind of stinks the way the season ended.”

That endingcame in the NCAA Tournament’s first round, when Purdue lost toFairleigh Dickinson, joining Virginia in 2018 as the only No. 1seeds to lose to a No. 16.

Before that,Edey dominated.

The 7-foot-4Canadian was nameda unanimous APAll-Americanand theBig Ten player of theyearafter finishing sixth nationally in scoring (22.3),second in rebounding (12.8) and first in double-doubles (26).

Edey alsoshot 62% from the floor and averaged 2.1 blocked shots per gamewhile leading Purdue to its first outright Big Ten regular-seasontitle since 2017. He is the first player since Navy’s DavidRobinson in 1985-86 to have at least 750 points, 450 rebounds and50 blocked shots in a season.

“He’s kind ofa one of a kind,” Purdue guard David Jenkins Jr. said. “I’ve neverplayed with someone like him, probably never will again.”

And to think,Edey didn’t want to play basketball when he was younger.

A hockey andbaseball player growing up in Toronto, Edey resisted basketball atfirst. He was 6-2 by the sixth grade and the natural inclination bythe adults was to push him toward basketball, where his size wouldbe a massive advantage.

“It wassomething I kind avoided all my life.,” Edey said. “I didn’t likepeople telling me what I should be doing with my life and it feltlike that’s what people were doing with basketball. When I startedplaying competitively, that’s when I really fell in love with thesport.”

Edeydeveloped his game quickly. He played at IMG Academy in Bradenton,Florida, and proved himself against some of the nation’s best highschool players, drawing attention from college coaches. He ended upat Purdue, where coach Matt Painter had a proven track record ofdeveloping big men.

Edey had alimited role as a freshman, then averaged 14.4 points and 7.7rebounds last season on a team that had talented big man TrevionWilliams and future NBA lottery pick Jaden Ivey.

Already atireless worker, Edey put in even more time during the offseason,spending extra time after practice and taking better care of hisbody. His already solid footwork got better, he added quickness anddeveloped more patience with the constant double teams he faced —not to mention the barrage of physical play teams tried to employagainst him.

“There’s notreally any kind of cool, sexy answer,” Edey said. “I came in everyday, I worked hard, I stayed after practice — stayed a long timeafter practice. I took care of my body and was able to steadilyimprove. There was nothing revolutionary I did. I just workedhard.”

It certainlypaid off, even if the season ended with a huge disappointment.