Zach Edey – Falling
Seven-foot-four Zach Edey’s NBA Draft possibilities are already limited considering that the league is quickly evolving away from the big man, but his weaknesses and limitations were on showcase as Purdue was bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. If you look at Edey’s mere stats, they pop off the screen. But it’s the intangibles, feel for the game, and overall potential that will likely scare some draft evaluators off of Edey.
Edey finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds as Purdue got upset by the 16th seed but at times he seemed overwhelmed by a much-smaller FDU team. And if Edey can’t dominate a much-smaller FDU team, I have a hard time believing that he can be a consistent difference-maker when he makes the decision to make the move to the NBA.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I believe Edey’s draft stock took a bit of a tumble. And because of that, I think it’s likely that he decides to return to school – whether that’s at Purdue or elsewhere via the transfer portal because there are still big questions about his game and fit at the NBA level.