Zach Edey: An all-time great season at Purdue

It’s a futile debate this early in the season, but if Purdue’s Zach Edey‘s not been the finest player in college basketball through the season’s first month-and-a-half or so, it’s a short, short list of those who can also claim to even be in the conversation. Defying all reasonable expectation, the Boilermakers approach the holidays ranked No. 1 nationally, the biggest reason being the star turn Edey has taken in his third year in West Lafayette and first year ever as the centerpiece of a basketball team.

A MAN OF MUCH RESPONSIBILITY … AND IMMENSE PRODUCTIVITY

Through nearly the first two months of his first season as Purdue’s clear centerpiece — its most important player on both ends of the floor — Zach Edey‘s numbers are staggering, particularly in the context of his usage and responsibility levels and especially taking into account that his team is unbeaten, with perhaps the best résumé out there, and improbably ranked No. 1 nationally.

Edey ranks sixth nationally — No. 1 among high-major players — in scoring, averaging 22.6 points per game. He does so on a robust 30.5-percent usage rate, per KenPom, but also only 13.5 field goal attempts per game.

He’s No. 1 nationally in rebounding, the most prolific offensive rebounder in college basketball, which has been a profoundly important piece to the wall of hidden productivity Purdue enjoys as an advantage every time out, between the extra possessions, the fouls that come on the offensive glass and the freedom teammates are afforded, among other things. There have been moments where Purdue’s guards are clearly just getting the ball up on the backboard to give Edey a go at it.

Edey’s only seventh nationally in defensive rebounding.

At this moment, Edey’s on pace for what might be the greatest rebounding season of any of the great big men who’ve come before him in West Lafayette. He’s averaging 17.5 rebounds per 40 minutes, more than two full rebounds better than Caleb Swanigan’s Player-of-the-Year-worthy 2016-17 season in which he nearly led college basketball in rebounding.

Meanwhile, Edey’s drawn 74 fouls, an average of 6.7 per game. As has been part of Purdue’s winning formula the past decade-plus, that matters a lot, fast-tracking the Boilermakers to the one-and-one, on top of the battle of attrition that can be won against opponents.

STEADY AS A ROCK

However you want to define the term “foundational,” Zach Edey‘s been that for Purdue this season, so consistent and so steady that Painter went out of his way during his post-Davidson press conference to remind people not to simply take him for granted, to not let all the 30-and-15 sorts of games just sort of run together.

It’s gone well beyond sheer numbers, though, and into the tone he sets for his entire team.

“Obviously he has ultimate size, but his job really starts with his effort,” Coach Matt Painter said. “He gives a great effort when shots go up. He doesn’t get frustrated when he doesn’t get the ball. He gets on the glass, he runs the court and does all the things necessary to put himself in position, to put our team in position, to score the basketball.

“When your best player’s a hard worker, it really makes it easy on a coaching staff.”

The tenacity with which Edey has rebounded this season — many players his size rebound within narrow parameters; not Edey — and alertness and energy he’s shown as an absolute difference-maker for the Boilermakers defensively underscore the important example Edey sets from a sheer effort perspective.

“I practice the same way I play,” Edey said. “It’s not like I’m changing anything when I’m on the court. (Consistency) is something I work on every day in practice.”

Poise, too.

It’s not easy dealing with double- and triple-team defense, not just every now and then, but every single trip down the floor, especially when not every call goes your way, though Painter’s credited officials this season at times for handling Edey well.

Edey’s demeanor has really stood out this season, another strong tone set that can filter on down throughout a team that has never been rattled by much of anything this season.

“That’s probably the biggest change,” assistant coach Terry Johnson said. “He doesn’t get as frustrated now as he did last year, when people are hanging on his arms. Some of his turnovers, they’re from guys hanging on his arms. He’s more understanding of that now. It’s been good to see him mature into this and hopefully he just continues on.”

THE MINUTES QUESTION WAS ANSWERED QUICKLY

The question of how many minutes Edey could handle this season has been quickly dashed, but was a reasonable one prior to the season. Not only should the 7-foot-4, 300-pounder be more vulnerable to conditioning issues — should and is are two different things, mind you — but Edey’s also never been needed to play big minutes before ever. This is Edey’s first season in his playing career as the best player on a basketball team. He never played more than 27 minutes in a game at Purdue prior to this season.

Painter now is dismissive of those questions from prior to the season about whether Edey could handle minutes physically. He obviously can. He’s playing a team-high 31.7 minutes and showing no signs of fading late in games.

But as Edey has carried 30 or more minutes in nine of 11 games this season — including 43 in the overtime win at Nebraska — the other key component is this: He’s barely fouling, averaging just 2.3 fouls per 40 minutes, a remarkable number for a player who’s vulnerable to foul problems as his team’s last line of defense at the rim, on top of all those offensive fouls he’s endured in the past, whether they be moving screens or the contact that comes with his power moves to the basket. The days of Edey being punished for his size are at least on hiatus if not altogether a thing of the past. So are the days of the occasional retaliatory foul in the face of unrelenting physicality.

“He’s gotten better at playing without fouling,” said assistant coach Paul Lusk, who coordinates Purdue’s defense. “He’s more conscious of not gambling and just being solid, and I think he’s just gotten better overall in pick-and-roll defense and providing rim protection, and that’s just not the blocks, but also the shots he changes.”

For Edey, it’s about discipline.

“There’s certain kinds of fouls you can stay out of the way of,” Edey said. “The dumb, reaching fouls. I’m not going to press up on my man and get all handsy on the ball. I’m going to stay off him and play passing lanes, things like that. I’m not gambling on blocks, just trying to go straight up like a wall. I’m trying to stay one-dimensional on defense and trying to not commit any stupid fouls, because I know how much my team needs me on the floor.”

THE BEST AMONG THE BEST

How does Zach Edey‘s junior season at Purdue stack up against the other great big men the Boilermaker program has yielded in modern years. We’ll compare statistics below on a per-40-minute basis below to even out any inequalities with playing time or roles, but also must mention this very important qualifier: Rarely has Purdue relied so much and so singularly on one particular big man — Carl Landry and JaJuan Johnson would be the two best comps in that regard — as many of the others were tethered to other players of first-team All-Big Ten or even All-America calber.

Player	Year	PPG (40)	REB (40)	FG%	AST (40)	BLK (40)	TO (40)	PF (40)
Carl Landry	2006-07	24.9	9.6	59.7	1.6	1.2	3.9	3.8
JaJuan Johnson	2008-09	19.9	8.3	54.0	1.0	3.1	2.0	2.6
JaJuan Johnson	2009-10	19.8	9.1	50.7	1.0	2.6	2.3	2.6
JaJuan Johnson	2010-11	23.2	9.7	49.4	1.1	2.6	1.9	1.8
A.J. Hammons	2014-15	19.6	10.9	54.0	1.5	4.6	3.5	4.2
A.J. Hammons	2015-16	24.3	13.3	59.2	1.8	4.1	3.2	3.8
Caleb Swanigan	2016-17	22.7	15.3	52.7	3.8	1.0	4.1	3.4
Isaac Haas	2016-17	25.8	10.2	58.7	1.2	1.5	4.6	4.3
Isaac Haas	2017-18	25.1	9.8	61.7	1.3	2.3	2.8	4.2
Matt Haarms	2018-19	16.3	9.4	63.2	2.0	3.6	2.1	4.3
Trevion Williams	2020-2021	24.7	14.6	52.5	3.6	0.9	3.8	4.7
Zach Edey	2020-2021	23.8	12.1	59.7	1.0	2.9	3.7	6.3
Trevion Williams	2021-2022	23.9	14.8	54.7	6.0	1.3	4.3	4.2
Zach Edey	2021-2022	30.3	16.2	64.8	2.5	2.6	3.7	4.3
Zach Edey (11 games)	2022-2023	28.5	17.5	62.8	1.3	2.8	2.6	2.3