Purdue's Zach Edey Wins 2nd Straight Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Award
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVApril 7, 2024
Purdue's Zach Edey will have the opportunity to finish his collegiate career with a national championship Monday, but first, he took home more hardware Sunday.
Edey won the 2024 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year award and defeated fellow finalists in North Carolina's RJ Davis, Tennessee's Dalton Knecht and Houston's Jamal Shead. The big man is the first to win the award two years in a row since Virginia's Ralph Sampson did so in 1983.
That was Sampson's third straight Naismith.
Edey already won the Associated Press Player of the Year for the second straight season, which was also the first time someone accomplished the task since Sampson's impressive run with the Cavaliers.
That the Purdue star took home his latest honor comes as no surprise.
He was dominant throughout the season while helping lead the Boilermakers to a Big Ten regular-season championship and national championship game appearance. He averaged 24.9 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 62.5 percent from the field.
Edey also became the first player in NCAA history with at least 800 points, 400 rebounds, 50 assists and 50 blocks in a single season and the only player outside Hall of Famer David Robinson with at least 2,200 career points, 1,200 career rebounds and 200 career blocks with a career field-goal percentage of over 60.
The best part for Purdue and its fans is the Naismith winner has been even better with a national title on the line.
In fact, nobody has been able to stop Edey in the Big Dance:
- First Round: 30 points, 21 rebounds, 3 blocks in 78-50 win over Grambling
- Second Round: 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks in 106-67 win over Utah State
- Sweet 16: 27 points, 14 rebounds in 80-68 win over Gonzaga
- Elite Eight: 40 points, 16 rebounds in 72-66 win over Tennessee
- Final Four: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks in 63-50 win over NC State
His biggest challenge is yet to come in Monday's national title game against the reigning champions in UConn. The Huskies have won every NCAA tournament game by at least 14 points and have their own star big man in Donovan Clingan to counter Edey.
Still, Edey has cemented his place in college basketball history regardless of how that game unfolds
