The Purdue basketball team suddenly found itself just one game away from playing for all the marbles this past Sunday as they finished off the Tennessee Volunteers in Elite Eight action. Tennessee basketball fans praised their team for its winning season while simultaneously lamenting the favorable whistle Purdue basketball big man Zach Edey got in the process, sparking a debate about the man Shaquille O'Neal recently called ‘Zachille O'Neal.'
Recently, one of the players who paved the way for Edey, Purdue basketball legend and Big Ten broadcaster Robbie Hummel, shared his thoughts on the Edey fouls controversy.
Hummel's stark comments came amid Boilermakers coach Matt Painter's defense of Edey in the media leading up to this coming weekend's Final Four. The possible events that could lead to a Wolfpack upset over Purdue were revealed.
Hummel's Take on Edey Foul Situation
Hummel shared his thoughts on the Edey foul controversy in an interview with FoxSports.com.
“Does he sometimes get away with fouls? Yes, all players do,” the Purdue basketball alumnus Hummel said.
According to Hummel, Edey got away with two fouls against Gonzaga that should have been called. He took a generalist approach in his response to the question that later diverted into a more specific answer. According to Hummel, Edey's size makes calling the game difficult, much the same way that NBA refs struggled to enforce the rules when Shaquille O'Neal entered his prime in the NBA.
“There are missed calls,” Hummel said. “When you are that big, that strong and that skilled the way he is, of course you're going to draw fouls. You put pressure on the defense and the officials.
“In order to keep him out, it's like when I used to have to guard Zach Randolph,” Hummel said. “Yeah, I'm fouling the hell out of him because he is stronger than me. He is bigger than me. What else am I going to do?
“I've got to put two hands on him. I can't stop him.”
Purdue Legend Responds to Edey ‘Hate'
The Purdue big man has been a lightning rod for controversy during the latter stages of his Purdue basketball career. Hummel responded to the fans' ‘hate' during the interview, sharing his thoughts on why he believes Edey is being viewed unfairly.
“I'm pretty blown away by the level of hate that we see for him,” Hummel said. “I've played with many seven-footers, and many of them are not productive. Many of them only play because they're tall.
“Many of them can't rebound outside their area. (They) can't make a post move. Just because you're tall doesn't mean you are good. But there has become this narrative that he is only good because he is tall and that's pretty funny to me.
“It just shows the level of not understanding the game because he does dominate the game in so many ways.”
Purdue basketball is set to take on NC State basketball on Saturday night at 6:09 pm ET. The NC State basketball team is seen as an underdog up to 10 points depending on which sportsbook created the line, with most analysts expecting Edey to be the big difference in the game even with star big man DJ Burns on the Wolfpack's Final Four roster.
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