Zach Edey Acknowledged by Matt Painter, Purdue Teammates for Leadership This Season
Edey #Edey
Junior center Zach Edey spearheads a Purdue basketball team that were crowned Big Ten regular season champions, and he was also honored as the conference’s Player of the Year. Edey’s teammates and coach Matt Painter acknowledged his efforts off the court after winning the award.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue junior center Zach Edey was named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season due to his play on the court, but it’s been exemplary leadership qualities that have defined his junior campaign in the eyes of his teammates and coaches.
Edey — who paced the conference with 21.9 points and 12.8 rebounds during the regular season — is the security blanket for the Boilermakers and led them to a 26-5 overall record and a 15-5 mark in league play.
The 7-foot-4 phenom has already picked up a first-team All-American honor by Sporting News before the start of postseason tournaments, and all year long he’s been a frontrunner for the National Player of the Year award.
“He’s definitely a quiet leader, more of a by-example kind of guy,” Purdue freshman point guard Braden Smith said. “Seeing how he gets all this media attention, he just lets it go on like it’s nothing. It doesn’t affect anything in the locker room either. Seeing him and how he handles that sets the tone for everybody else.”
Whether it be as a result of his status as an upperclassman status or contributions to the team on game days, Edey has been thrust into the role of a leader.
His teammates can attest that he isn’t one to be vocal, but his desire to put in the work necessary to succeed during his time in West Lafayette has been evident in his constant improvement.
“From a competitive standpoint, he’s been ready to play,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “He’s done some really good things for us. He has a good routine for how he goes about practice. He’s a guy that embraces practice but also does things before and after with his routine to get himself ready.
“A lot of times you’re going to hear that about people that aren’t as outspoken. He’s more reserved than he is outspoken, even though when he gets mad he’ll speak on things.”
It’s Edey’s positive practice habits that not only get him better day by day, but also the teammates around him. Redshirt freshman forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who redshirted last season, is a former four-star recruit averaging 12.0 minutes per game this season.
Kaufman-Renn serves as Edey’s primary backup in Purdue’s rotation, and he scored 6.5 points per game in the final four matchups of the regular season after recording 32 total points in the prior 14 against Big Ten opponents.
“For me and my development, you’re going up against the best player in possibly the last 20 or 30 years,” Kaufman-Renn said. “When you go up against that every day, you’re going to get better.
“I always want to compete against the best, and that’s what he is. Off the court, he’s a great person and he’s cool to talk to. So he kind of has the complete package there.”
Edey and the Boilermakers are scheduled to begin postseason play on Friday at noon ET in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago.
They will tip off against the winner of a game between Michigan and Rutgers, who play Thursday. All matchups in the first three rounds of the event will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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