Every year in college basketball, there is one player who stands out over the rest. In the past, it has been Buddy Hield, Josh Hart, Trae Young, Zion Williamson, Luka Garza, Oscar Tshiebwe and Zach Edey. This season, Edey, for the second consecutive year, is the best player in college basketball.

The best player doesn’t mean the same as the best NBA Draft prospect (although Williamson and Young were great prospects). It also doesn’t mean the player is just putting up stats, even if that is a part of it. For someone to be known as the best player in college basketball, they have to truly stand out above the rest and be an integral part of their team’s success.

Pre-2023-2024 Zach Edey

Edey was a three-star recruit in the 2020 class. He chose to play for Purdue after also having offers from Baylor and Western Kentucky.

In his freshman season, Edey played 14.7 minutes per game. He averaged 8.7 points, 4.4 blocks and 1.1 blocks per game. He helped Purdue make the NCAA Tournament, but they lost in the first round to North Texas.

During the 2021-2022 season, Edey started, averaging 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. His play led the team to the Sweet 16 before they were bounced out of the NCAA Tournament by St. Peter’s. He was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Edey made the Canadian National Team and competed with them in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

Last season, Edey averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He was voted the Player of the Year. Unfortunatley, the season didn’t end as Edey would’ve hoped. The Boilermakers were a no. 1 seed and were upset by the no. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

Purdue’s 2023-2024 Season

Purdue kept most of their core together from the 2022-2023 season. Freshman guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer returned to the starting lineup. Mason Gillis, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Caleb Furst and Ethan Morton all resumed roles as complementary players. Lance Jones transferred in from Southern Illinois and has provided a nice glue guy. With so much talent, Purdue was ranked highly before the season began.

The Boilermakers went undefeated in nonconference play, finishing with an 11-0 record. They challenged themselves and came up with victories against quality competition. Some of their notable wins in nonconference play were over Tennessee, Marquette, Gonzaga, Xavier and Arizona.

During Big Ten play, Purdue has started out with a 12-3 record. They sit atop the Big Ten standings and have a one-game lead over Illinois. After the Fighting Illini, all teams have at least six losses. The Boilermakers just suffered a loss to Ohio State, who is near the bottom of the conference, but they are still in play for a no. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Numbers

Edey has maintained good numbers this season. He is averaging 23.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. To go with his impressive traditional stats, Edey has a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 37.1. which ranks fifth all-time since the stat was tracked in 2009-2010 (Edey ranks second all-time for his play last season).

There are some other notable things Edey has done this season. He has 19 double-doubles in 26 games played. He ranks third in the country in points per game, third in rebounds and 16th in blocks.

He has shown up in some big games as well. Edey had 25 points against Gonzaga, 23 against Tennessee and 28 against Marquette in the Maui Invitational. Edey also scored 22 points against Arizona.

The Competition

Edey stands out above the rest in terms of the race for National Player of the Year.

R.J. Davis is scoring 21.3 points per game for North Carolina and has the Tar Heels in a good position for the NCAA Tournament. Dalton Knecht is scoring 20.1 points for Tennessee and has been on a tear during conference play.

Those are the other favorites for the award, but they are far behind Edey based on the odds. Edey impacts the game in more ways than they have this season.

Conclusion

There are better draft prospects in college basketball than Zach Edey. But Edey has put up both numbers and the team success to earn the spot as the best player in college basketball heading into the last several weeks of the season.

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• Source: https://thegamehaus.com/college-basketball/zach-edey-the-best-player-in-college-basketball-pt-2/2024/02/20/