Purdue Coach on Zach Edey’s Impact for Memphis

Alright, hoop heads, buckle up! We’ve got some spicy takes on Zach Edey and his upcoming rookie season with the Grizzlies. Let’s dive into this beast of a story.

Big Man on Campus: Edey’s College Dominance

So, here we are, just a month out from the 2024-25 NBA season, and Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley is already hyping up Zach Edey. The dude was picked 9th overall, but folks are still scratching their heads, wondering if this seven-foot-four giant can hang in the NBA. Spoiler alert: he can.

Brantley’s been singing Edey’s praises for a while now. Just the other day, he saw a sports show leave Edey out of their top five big men list. Naturally, he shot a text to Edey. “I knew he was pissed off,” Brantley admitted to The Commercial Appeal. “When he’s pissed off, he just hits you with the ‘OK,’ but that OK has so much fire behind it.”

Ja Morant’s Seal of Approval

Ja Morant, the Grizzlies’ star, is all in on Edey. He even put him through a grueling offseason "boot camp" and came out raving. “Definitely Rookie of the Year. I think easy too,” Ja said. And honestly, when Ja Morant is this hyped, you know something special is brewing in Memphis.

Check out this tweet for the full scoop:

Ja Morant on Zach Edey:

“Definitely Rookie of the Year. I think easy too.”

Edey made it through Ja’s off-season training “boot camp” and Ja is really excited by what he saw

Something special is brewing in Memphis

— EdeyMuse (@EdeyMuse)

The Hook Shot Maestro

Edey isn’t just a towering presence; he’s got skills to match. Brantley says, “They’re just not going to let Zach switch off and get cooked the whole game. It doesn’t work like that. It’s five-on-five. Him doing this routine every day would be like the equivalent of me and you brushing our teeth every day. He takes 12-foot hook shots and makes them like it’s nothing.”

And Ja backed him up, saying, “Obviously he’s 7-4, but his touch, he was shooting the ball very well. Rookie of the year is pretty much all I can say.” In my opinion, Edey’s got the potential to redefine what a big man can do in today’s game.

A Perfect Fit in Memphis

Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman is convinced they struck gold with Edey. “Zach Edey is a particularly special fit [for the franchise],” Kleiman said during the draft. “In getting to know him, we are talking about someone whose competitiveness is through the roof, care factor is through the roof. No ego, just wants to win.”

Let’s not forget, Edey was the first player in over four decades to win The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball player of the year award back-to-back. That’s no small feat.

Now, we wait to see how his massive frame translates to the NBA courts. Last season, guys like Boban Marjanovic, Bol Bol, and Victor Wembanyama were all listed at 7-foot-3 or taller. Edey’s got some big (pun intended) competition.

During his college years, Edey was a beast, averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds as a junior, then bumping it up to 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in his senior year, taking Purdue to the NCAA title game against Connecticut.

So, what do you think? Is Edey the next big thing in the NBA? Or will he struggle to adjust to the pro game? Drop your thoughts below!