After the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Zach Edey demonstrated his abilities on a grand scale. NBA analyst Nick Wright believes the Purdue University big man should be selected by the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Edey became the first player to win the award twice in a row since Ralph Sampson of the University of Virginia in the early 1980s when he was voted the Associated Press Player of the Year for the second time this season.
Edey performed admirably in two Final Four games, despite Purdue’s loss to the University of Connecticut in the 2024 championship game on Monday. The 7-foot-4 center led North Carolina State University to a semifinal victory with 20 points and 12 rebounds. In the championship game against UConn, he scored 37 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Edey scored the second-most points in tournament history this year, averaging 29.5 points per game in six games, following Purdue’s devastating first-round loss in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Although his style of play may not be optimal for the NBA of today, his collegiate success speaks for itself. It might draw interest from a team looking to utilize his special skills, and the Heat have a coaching staff that seems more than capable of doing so.
Before the Final Four, ESPN released a mock draft in which Edey was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 13th overall choice. It’s improbable that Miami will choose that high.
