Purdue University Boilermakers centre Zach Edey of Toronto, Ontario won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Award on Friday. In the process he became the sixth basketball player ever to win the award twice, as Edey also won the award in 2022-23. Edey follows Jerry Lucas of Ohio State (1961 and 1962), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of UCLA (1967 and 1969), Bill Walton of UCLA (1972 and 1973), David Thompson of North Carolina State (1974 and 1975), and Ralph Sampson of the University of Virginia (1981, 1982 and 1983).
In an era where most players who win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Award immediately declare for the NBA Draft, Edey went back to Purdue for his senior season. He averaged 25 points per game, 12.2 rebounds per game, 2.2 blocks per game and two assists per game. Edey also had a field goal percentage of .624, three-point percentage of .500, and free throw percentage of .710.
Edey’s best game of the season just came on Sunday. In the Elite Eight, Edey had a sensational double-double of 40 points and 16 rebounds in a 72-66 Purdue win over Tennessee.
Now this weekend Purdue has unfinished business. That is because they are in the Final Four where they will play North Carolina State. The other semifinal on Saturday has the University of Connecticut versus the University of Alabama.
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