Why Is Purdue’s Zach Edey March Madness’ “New Villain”?

With a great name, comes fame and criticism both. Not being a fan of a sports figure is nothing new, especially when you don’t belong to the team a person follows. Or as the decorated Coach K put it, because they are not you. Apparently, Purdue’s sensational hooper Zach Edey is also falling on the same lines these days.

Purdue has overcome their ghosts from last season’s disappointment and now holds a serious contention to reach the Final Four. An instrumental reason behind that is their senior center. However, in the eyes of a few, that is not the case. Rob Dauster along with Kevin Sweeney and Tyler Hansbrough came together on the growing hatred against this towering athlete.

Dauster went first and expressed that he doesn’t seem to understand how a guy like Zach Edey has been portrayed as a villain in college basketball. According to him, “Zach Edey is really quiet, really thoughtful, really introspective guy who just happens to be 7 foot 4 guy and completely dominant.” To this, Sweeney chimed in, “Zach Edey’s story is one of the coolest stories in recent college basketball memory. Here’s an Asian kid from Canada who plays hockey and basketball, grew up to be 7 ft tall.”

Annoyed by the reason why people are hating on Zach Edey, Sweeney says, “He’s everything about college basketball we should celebrate and yet people hate him because he is tall and doesn’t play ‘exciting style of basketball’.” Was Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) not exciting to people? Yes, Zach is different than Shaq, but it’s the same idea.”

Zach Edey uses brutal force to dominate his opponents. Further, his physicality only compliments his positioning and angles. Nevertheless, haters find words and a person to tag them on.

Read More- After Shaquille O’Neal Honor, Zach Edey Sees Support From Former Big Man Turned ESPN Employee

Purdue’s major contributor today is going through a rough time everywhere, whether you talk about social media or various podcasts.

Why are people giving Zach Edey a bad image?

Apparently, after Purdue’s 106-67 flush against the 8th-seed Utah State, many tweets and reactions popped up that the Boilermakers only won because Edey is tall. Another reason why fans do not particularly love the towering giant is because he takes up too much space near the basket, doesn’t have flexibility, and is not fast. Meanwhile, Matt Painter called such accusations “moronic” in the post-match interview.

However, his long list of accolades poses a contrasting look. The fact that 2× Big Ten Player of the Year is among the front runners to clinch his second consecutive NPOY and is the driving force behind Purdue’s overall success in the last two years gives him all the acknowledgment of a great player. Whether Zach Edey crumbles under this pressure or keeps flourishing will be worth noting in the upcoming days.

Read More- Can Zach Edey’s Purdue Still Win March Madness Despite Massive Upset?

Do you also think that Zach Edey is the new villain?