Zach Edey's career has come to an end. An astounding NCAA Tournament run that ended in a 37-point performance in Purdue's 75-60 loss to UConn will be the final game for the two-time Naismith Player of the Year.
The Purdue star, who led the country in points and rebounds this season among all Division I players, will not use his extra year of eligibility gained from COVID to return in 2024-25, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter told CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein in February.
Edey dominated college basketball last season averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for a Purdue team that went on to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, in the process earning national Player of the year recognition. This season he was been even better and Purdue as a team has been more complete, with the Boilermakers finishing 34-5 and making their first Final Four since 1969.
The last player to repeat as a back-to-back Naismith Award winner was Ralph Sampson at Virginia, who won it in 1981, 1982 and 1983. The only other player to go back-to-back was Bill Walton, who also won it three consecutive years while at UCLA in 1972, 1973 and 1974.
Edey and the Boilermakers were stunned last postseason in becoming the second-ever No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, souring a season that ended with the second-most wins ever (29) for the program in a single season. Purdue is once again poised to repeat as Big Ten champs and could avenge its early March Madness exit next month, where right now its 15-2 odds to win the title sit as the third-best behind UConn and Houston in the betting market.
