Every year in college basketball, there is one player who stands out over the rest. In the past, it has been Buddy Hield, Josh Hart, Trae Young, Zion Williamson, Luka Garza and Oscar Tshiebwe. This season, Zach Edey is the best player in college basketball.
The best player doesn’t mean the same as the best NBA Draft prospect (although Williamson and Young were great prospects). It also doesn’t mean that it is the player just putting up stats, even if that is a part of it. For someone to be known as the best player in college basketball, they have to truly stand out above the rest and be an integral part of their team’s success.
Edey was a three-star recruit in the 2020 class. He chose to play for Purdue after also having offers from Baylor and Western Kentucky.
In his freshman season, Edey played 14.7 minutes per game. He averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 blocks and 1.1 blocks per game. He helped Purdue make the NCAA Tournament, but they lost in the first round to North Texas.
During the 2021-2022 season, Edey started, averaging 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. His play led the team to the Sweet 16 before they were bounced out of the NCAA Tournament by St. Peter’s. He was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.
Edey made the Canadian National Team and competed with them in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
Purdue lost several key players following the 2021-2022 including Jaden Ivey, Trevion Williams, Sasha Stefanovic, Eric Hunter and Isaiah Thompson, who all played significant roles. With all the players departing, the Boilermakers were not ranked in the preseason top 25 by either the AP or the coaches.
The Boilermakers were able to go undefeated in non-conference play with an 11-0 record. They had some tough games, including ones against Gonzaga and Duke, who were ranked at the time of playing. Purdue also defeated Marquette, who is currently ranked.
During Big Ten play, Purdue has posted a 7-1 record. They earned a victory over Ohio State when they were ranked. Their lone loss of the season was to Rutgers by one point.
Their play has given them a two-game lead in the Big Ten. Purdue looks to be on track to have a potential one seed with a 7-1 record against quadrant 1 teams. Edey’s play has made Purdue a great team when not many had high expectations and that success could continue into the postseason.
Edey has vastly improved his numbers this season. He is averaging 21.3 points, 13 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. To go with traditional stats, Edey has a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 39.5, which rivals Zion Williamson’s impressive 40.8 PER in 2018-2019.
There have been some other notable things that Edey has done this season. He has 15 double-doubles in 18 games played this season. He ranks 10th in all of college basketball with 21.3 points per game. His 13 rebounds per game rank second in the country.
In some of the biggest games this season, Edey has performed. He had a double-double against Marquette and Duke. His season-high for points was 32 which came in a close victory over Michigan State.
There are a few players who could compete with Edey for Player of the Year awards.
Last year’s winner, Tshiebwe, has had a slight drop in his stats and also is on a Kentucky team that has struggled. It is tough to win awards two years in a row and Tshiebwe will need to improve his play and his team’s to truly compete with Edey, who is outscoring him by almost six points per game.
Brandon Miller and Jalen Wilson have been great for Alabama and Kansas,respectively. Each is averaging over 20 points and eight rebounds per game. Both of their teams are playing well too. They lie right behind Edey in National Player of the Year odds and may very well catch him, but that would take both Edey slowing down and these two players bumping their stats up a little bit.
Azuolas Tubelis, Drew Timme and Kris Murray all have chances to win National Player of the Year awards, but they also need to make up ground in terms of personal and team success.
There are better draft prospects in college basketball than Zach Edey. But Edey has put up both numbers and the team success to earn the spot as the best player in college basketball heading into the last several weeks of the season.
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