A blood-hungry Zach Edey decided to run it back for Purdue basketball. A historically bad first-round loss to Fairleigh Dickinson may have prompted him to forego the NBA Draft. One thing is certain and that is he is continuing the trend set by Kentucky basketball's Oscar Tshiebwe.
National Player of the Year winners often go straight to the NBA. College standouts who achieved the feat continued to do so since 2008. The Kentucky basketball big man broke that last year and started a new trend with his return, per NCAA March Madness.
The Canadian behemoth's comeback resumes the trend as the illustrious winner of the award returns for the second-straight year. Edey can also make a repeat performance to win the award twice. The most notable and only players to achieve this feat were Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson. They both won it three times.
Purdue basketball gets a reliable big man back in their conquest for another BIG 10 conference title. Zach Edey totaled 22.3 points per game on a highly efficient 60% field goal percentage on the floor. He is also second among the rebounding leaders. His skills in crashing the boards lead him to rack up 12.9 rebounds per game.
Coach Matt Painter is ecstatic as he regains his elite rim protector. Edey recorded 2.1 blocks a game throughout the Boilermakers' campaign last season.
Meanwhile, the former National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe continues to venture in his pursuit to get drafted on June 22. Both stars have had notable seasons in college. Edey has a chance to be on the better side of history if he repeats.
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