Purdue star Zach Edey administered a lot of pain to Tennessee basketball Sunday afternoon, scoring 40 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while keeping the Vols from their first Final Four in program history.
He wasn’t done giving Tennessee grief when the final horn sounded. When a reporter asked Edey about Purdue coach Matt Painter believing in him, the star senior made sure to point out one person in orange that he believed disrespected him.
“There were so many coaches that looked over me, like you could — name a program, I could name a coach that looked over me. Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach, but he was at our practice, looked over me,” Edey said postgame. “It’s kind of been the story of my life. People have doubted me. People looked past me. Can’t do that anymore.”
Edey was a three-star recruit and the No. 436 player in the country coming out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida according to the 247sports composite rankings. The then 7-foot-3 center boasted just three offers— from Baylor, Purdue and Western Kentucky.
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Now a 7-foot-4 center, Edey’s led Purdue to the Final Four for the first time since 1980. He’s the reigning National Player of the Year and the favorite to beat out Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht for the honor again this season. He’s 2-0 against Tennessee in his career with both wins coming this season by a combined 10 points.
“He’s an extremely physical player, does a great job wedging with his body,” Barnes said of Edey on Sunday. “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.”
This season, Edey averaged 25 points and 12.2 rebounds a game while leading Purdue to a 33-4 record and a Final Four berth to date.
Edey and the Boilermakers will look to win Purdue’s first ever National Championship next week. They’ll face North Carolina State in the National Semifinal on Saturday night.
