After Zach Edey’s departure, Purdue’s "ceiling is not as high," claims basketball analyst

As the new college basketball season approaches, the question arises — can Purdue reach the same heights without Zach Edey? The 7-foot-4 center joined the NBA draft following a dominant senior season and now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.

After losing the two-time national college player of the year, many doubt the Boilermakers' ability to match their success from the past season. Edey led the team to the NCAA title game, Midwest Regional championship and Big Ten regular season title.

On Friday, basketball analysts Jeff Goodman and Robbie Hummel discussed the Big Ten Conference. On "The Field Of 68: After Dark" podcast, the duo also gave their take on Purdue's outlook for the upcoming campaign.

"Are you feeling it with Purdue though to being that much better or no?Are you saying to yourself, 'I'll give them No. 1?'" Goodman asked Hummel, a former Boilermaker.

"Their ceiling is not as high as some other teams."

However, Hummel pointed out that despite Edey's departure, Matt Painter's team still has enough talent to remain one of the top teams in the Big Ten.

"Purdue is this rebounding monstrosity and Edey was a big part of that," Hummel said. "I think they could have the best backcourt in the league Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are a good place to start. Myles Colvin — high ceiling, Cam Heide — high ceiling."

Zach Edey was the NCAA scoring leader last season with a career-best 983 points (25.2 average). He also won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner for being the top collegiate center and the Luke Olson national player of the year award.

Purdue basketball roster and schedule for 2024 season

After several major players left the team this offseason, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter added six new faces for the upcoming campaign.

Mason Gillis, Ethan Morton and Chase Martin also departed the program. Meanwhile, Jack Lusk, a sophomore transfer from Millikin joined the team along with five recruits including CJ Cox and Raleigh Burgess.

As Robbie Hummel said, Purdue still has a lot of talented players on the roster who could fill the void left by Edey's exit. Braden Smith, Caleb Furst, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Myles Colvin, Fletcher Loyer and Camden Heide are all returning.

The Boilermakers will kick off their regular season on Nov. 4 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Mackey Arena. Some of their notable fixtures include matchups against Alabama on Nov. 15, Auburn on Dec. 21, Rutgers on Jan. 9, Ohio State on Jan. 21, Iowa on Feb. 4 and UCLA on Feb. 28.