Purdue center Zach Edey, who won every national player of the year honor for 2022-23, announced Tuesday that he will enter his name in the upcoming NBA draft but maintain his eligibility.
The 7-foot-4 Edey collected the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and the Associated Press Player of the Year as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Player of the Year award.
“My basketball journey has been unorthodox to say the least, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it,” Edey posted to Twitter, adding he “loved every second” of the season, which ended with Purdue getting beat by 16th-seeded FDU.
“With that being said, I’m putting my name in the NBA draft while maintaining my college eligibility,” he posted. Edey has one year of eligibility remaining.
“I will evaluate my future after going through the process and look forward to what’s next.”
Despite his college domination, NBA scouts are concerned with Edey’s lack of mobility, per draft experts. ESPN recently had Edey as the No. 52 prospect.
Edey averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while leading Purdue (29-6) to Big Ten regular season and tournament championships and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He ranked sixth in Division I in scoring, second in rebounding and first with 27 double-doubles.
The junior from Canada started all 34 games for the Boilermakers and saw his minutes increase from 19.0 per game a season ago to 31.7 per game in 2022-23.
–Field Level Media