Zach Edey picks Joel Embiid as ideal scorer on his ultimate big man squad in NBA 

Purdue’s Zach Edey might well be the best collegiate basketball player over the past two years. The 2023 National Player of the Year is likely headed for a repeat with the way he has been carrying the Boilermakers. He has the team within two wins of a national championship, something the program has not accomplished in its history.

In the Boilermakers’ 72-66 win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight, the Canadian big man showed why he has been deserving of all the accolades. He dropped 14 straight points and made the crucial block on the Volunteers’ Dalton Knecht to end their gritty opponents’ title hopes. Purdue will next meet North Carolina State in the Final Four.

With Zach Edey holding the limelight in Glendale, Arizona as collegiate hoops’ best four remaining teams converge, he was asked to speak with reporters. Somebody from the media asked him to build the perfect big man.

The Boilermakers’ team leader gamely responded with Manute Bol for size and Nikola Jokic for IQ. He turned to Hakeem Olajuwon for defense and post skills but had a tough time naming the player to base his rebounding skills on. Edey originally named Dennis Rodman but eventually went for Andre Drummond.

For scoring, Zach Edey didn’t hesitate to name Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning MVP and the league’s back-to-back scoring champ. “The Process” was the favorite to win a second MVP and add a third scoring belt but a knee injury forced him to sit out for close to a month.

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Zach Edey will have to work on his outside game to be as dominant as Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid has become a monster that terrorizes defenses when he developed his shot from mid-range to the 3-point line. This season, “The Process” is hitting 35.7% of his shots from behind the arc, a figure just around the league average of 36.6%. Embiid’s size, mobility, strength and inside moves that are paired with his perimeter game make him a nightmare to defend.

Zach Edey will have to work to adapt to the NBA game. In four years with the Boilermakers, he attempted just two 3-pointers. He has incredible skills for a traditional big man, but the league has shifted away from that style. Edey might easily have been a top pick 20 years ago, which may not be the case in the 2024 draft.

Edey will likely be called in the mid to late lottery or even drafted early in the second round. Arguably college basketball’s top player will have to evolve his game to sniff around Embiid’s scoring abilities.