Zach Edey


Zach Edey


Zachry Cheyne Edey ( EE-dee; born May 14, 2002) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Edey played for the Purdue men's basketball team from 2021 to 2024, leading the team to the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game in his final year. He is listed at 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 m), making him the tallest player in Big Ten history. At the close of the 2023 season, Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus National Player of the Year, repeating both in 2024. He was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. Edey is tied with Boban Marjanović and Victor Wembenyama as the tallest active NBA player.

Early life and high school career

Zachry Cheyne Edey was born in Toronto on May 14, 2002, to Julia and Glen Edey. His 6-foot-3-inch (1.91 m) mother was born to Chinese immigrants in Toronto, where she grew up and played basketball; his father is white. Edey grew up playing ice hockey as well as baseball, which his father also played growing up. As a grade 10 student at Leaside High School in Toronto, Edey started playing basketball with the Northern Kings Amateur Athletic Union program.

Edey moved to the United States and attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He joined their second-tier team in his first year, working daily with IMG coach and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Daniel Santiago. Edey was promoted to the school's national team the following year. A consensus three-star recruit, he reclassified to the 2020 class and committed to playing college basketball for Purdue over offers from Baylor and Santa Clara, among others.

College career

Freshman season

In his freshman season at Purdue University, Edey was listed at 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m), making him the tallest player in Big Ten history. On March 2, 2021, he recorded a season-high 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench in a 73–69 win over Wisconsin. Sharing playing time with fellow center Trevion Williams, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 14 minutes per game, earning Big Ten All-Freshman Team honours.

Sophomore season

To begin his sophomore year, Edey moved into a starting role. On January 3, 2022, he recorded a then-career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes in a 74–69 loss to Wisconsin. On February 26, 2022, Edey recorded a career-high 25 points in 22 minutes in a 68–65 loss to Michigan State. As a sophomore, he averaged career highs in every category except free throw percentage, averaging 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks in only 19 minutes per game. Following the conclusion of the season, Edey was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten.

Junior season

On December 17, 2022, Edey became both the 55th player in Purdue's history to reach 1,000 career points and the 11th player in Purdue's history to reach 100 career blocks.

During the 2022–23 season, Edey received Big Ten Player of the Week six times, tying the school record for most awards in a single season (Caleb Swanigan, 2016–17) and rising to second most all-time in men's basketball in the Big Ten (Evan Turner, 2009–10).

At the close of the season, Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Sporting News National Player of the Year. He was also named a consensus first-team All-American.

Senior season

On May 31, 2023, Edey announced that he was opting out of the 2023 NBA draft to return to Purdue for his senior season. On January 5, 2024, Edey became the second player in Purdue history to reach 1000 career rebounds, following Joe Barry Carroll. On January 28, 2024, Edey scored 26 points in a win against Rutgers to surpass 2,000 for his collegiate career points, making him just the sixth player in Big Ten Conference history to have 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

On February 4, in a win against Wisconsin, Edey set two different school records. He scored in double figures for the 74th consecutive game, passing Rick Mount. Edey also broke Terry Dischinger's record for double-doubles as he secured the 55th of his career. In addition to his school records, he reached 200 career blocks in the game. That week, Edey was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the 10th time in his career. This tied Evan Turner for the most awards in Big Ten history.

Edey currently holds the record for rebounds at Purdue with 1,178, passing Joe Barry Carroll in a game against Ohio State on February 18, 2024.

On February 26, 2024, it was announced that Edey would not use his extra year of eligibility gained from COVID-19 to return to Purdue for the 2024–25 season. Instead, Edey declared for the 2024 NBA Draft and received a green room invite, but declined, preferring to watch the draft at Purdue instead.

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2024–present)

On June 26, 2024, Edey was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2024 NBA Draft.

National team career

Edey represented Canada at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia. He averaged 15.1 points, a tournament-high 14.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, leading his team to the bronze medal and being named to the all-tournament team.

On May 24, 2022, Edey agreed to a three-year commitment to play with the Canadian senior men's national team.

Edey was selected by coach Jordi Fernández to play in 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, becoming the only college player in the team. On September 3, they qualified to the quarter-finals, securing a berth at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the first Olympics appearance for Team Canada since 2000. Canada won the bronze medal over the United States in the third-place game. This was Canada's first-ever World Cup medal, and first medal at a major global tournament since the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics

College

See also

  • List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds

References

External links

  • Purdue Boilermakers bio

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Zach Edey by Wikipedia (Historical)




 


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