7’4” Zach Edey Invites Anthony Davis Comparisons After Ending Purdue’s 44-Year Dry Spell

After a dismal last season, the Purdue Boilermakers have bounced back with a trip to the Final Four for the first time in 44 years. And the driving force behind their success this season has been big man Zach Edey. The Canadian went big on Sunday night, erupting for a career-high 40 points and 16 rebounds to muscle Purdue within two wins of the title for the first time since 1980 with a 72-66 victory over Tennessee. While he has turned quite a few heads with his NCAA performance this season, the big question is whether his game will translate to the pros.

Standing 7-foot-4 with a 7-foot-10.5 wingspan and weighing 300 pounds, Edey will be one of the biggest players in the NBA next season. However, slow-footed big men have phased out of the league in recent years because of their defensive limitations, which could pose a challenge for Edey. But not according to Colin Cowherd.

Veteran analysts evaluate Zach Edey’s NBA potential

In an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the 60-year-old acknowledged that while Edey lacks the lateral movement necessary in the league, he could thrive near the basket as Anthony Davis has. “Anthony Davis of the Lakers is interesting. Because for a couple of years, everybody was trying to convince Anthony Davis, who I think had a two-year stretch of unbelievable basketball. ‘Hey, AD, go outside and shoot jumpers.’ He wasn’t very good at it. He didn’t like it. And Anthony Davis, over the last two years, has been healthier coming closer to the basket, going back in, and being a big,” stated Cowherd.

However, according to FOX Sports NBA analyst Ric Bucher, AD isn’t playing as a classic big, but as “a rim runner and a guy who’s playing off LeBron diving to the basket.” Furthermore, Bucher believes when it comes to bigs in the league, it’s mobile and athletic big men, which Edey isn’t.

Unlike the versatile and skilled bigs such as Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid, Edey lacks the nimble footwork, playmaking ability, and shooting range that have become crucial for success in the modern NBA. So, in that case, what would be the ideal situation for him in the league?

How will Zach Edey fit in the NBA?

Edey’s imposing size makes him a force to be reckoned with near the basket, where he’s nearly unstoppable. However, his biggest challenge lies on the defensive end. Edey’s current lack of footspeed puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to guarding pick-and-rolls, an important skill for most big men in today’s NBA. The Purdue star is very effective when he’s stationary near the basketball, which he can do in college because of a lack of defensive three seconds in the NCAA. But an NBA game is different.

In the league, big men have to clear the lane every three seconds. Moreover, the NBA big men also have to defend near the 3-point line far more often because of how good NBA players are at shooting for 3s off screens. As a result, traditional, slower-paced centers are becoming increasingly rare because of how important it is to be mobile in guarding such plays. Therefore, the ideal situation for him in the league would be if a team drafts him and pairs him with another big who can defend on the perimeter, as Giannis Antetokounmpo does next to Brook Lopez. Pairing him with the Thunder and Chet Holmgren, or with the Heat and Bam Adebayo could work well in the NBA.

Read More: Is Zach Edey the Best NCAA Player This Season?