Zach Edey calls out Rick Barnes following Final Four berth: 'He looked over me'

Just minutes after leading Purdue to a 72-66 victory over Tennessee, star Zach Edey had some words for Vols coach Rick Barnes. Edey recalled when he was a high school player at IMG Academy and, despite Barnes visiting his practices, never received an offer from Tennessee.

He cooked the Vols for 40 points and 16 rebounds while making 13-of-21 on his field goal attempts. Speaking postgame, Edey sent a message to not only Barnes, but all the coaches who overlooked him as he has now reached the Final Four.

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“I get to pay him back,” Edey said of Barnes. “There was so many coaches that looked over me. Name a program and I can name a coach that looked over me. At Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach, but he was in a bunch of our practices and looked over me. It’s kind of been the story of my life. People have doubted me. People have looked past me. You can’t do that anymore.”

Zach Edey talks about being overlooked and doubted by multiple coaches🤫‼️
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— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 31, 2024

Rick Barnes on Zach Edey: ‘He’s a difficult guy to officiate’

Tennessee had no idea what to do with Zach Edey on Sunday in a 72-66 loss to Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Edey craved up the Vols defense for 40 points and 16 rebounds on 13-of-21 shooting from the field, as the game plan from Rick Barnes was hapless to stop him.

Speaking postgame, Barnes addressed how Edey was able to expose Tennessee’s interior defense in such a dominant fashion. The coach could do nothing but heap praise on the special player that Edey is, highlighting how he uses his size within the boundaries of the game to create matchup issues.

“One, you’ve got a very unique player in Zach Edey, very unique,” Barnes said. “It’s a hard game to officiate. Space on the court is so important, and depending on how a guy gets there and you try to keep him from getting there and the effort that goes into that oftentimes can get one guy in particular there out of position to where he can maybe help on some other different things. He’s an extremely physical player, does a great job wedging with his body. I thought all along his misses are the hardest thing to defend because he does lead strong. He’ll bounce you off and try to create a crack and step through it. That’s where he’s improved so much with his footwork.

“I think it’s hard for officials because there’s not many guys like that. The game has changed so much through the years. Whether you stay in the lane three seconds or you don’t, if you don’t ever get out, it really distorts everything. I’m not saying he did or he didn’t, but watching tape, he’s a difficult guy to officiate, I can tell you that. He’s an extremely difficult guy to guard because, again, knowing where he wants the ball. And he’s got a group of guys around it that know how to get it to him at the right time.”