Report: Purdue star Zach Edey declares for NBA draft

Field Level Media|published: Tue 23rd April, 19:01 2024

Purdue center Zach Edey dunks against Tennessee during the first half of the NCAA tournament Midwest Regional final in the Elite 8 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Edey scored 40 points in the 72-66 win. credits: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Purdue center Zach Edey, the two-time national player of the year, has officially entered the 2024 NBA Draft.

The 7-foot-4 behemoth, who posted a brief message to Instagram last week saying Purdue "changed his life," told ESPN on Tuesday that he's submitted the paperwork to enter the draft.

"I showed that I'm a physical presence on offense this season," Edey told ESPN. "I also showed I can play defense. I can guard in space, even defend guards."

Edey earned player of the year honors this past season after leading all of Division I in scoring at 25.2 points per game and ranking third in rebounding (12.2 per game). He also set career bests with 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per contest.

Edey fueled Purdue to its most successful season in decades. The Boilermakers made their first Final Four since 1980 and lost to UConn 75-60 in the national championship game despite Edey going for 37 points and 10 boards.

NBA mock drafts project Edey as a first-round pick who could go in the lottery (the top 14).

Most of Edey's points came at the rim. He has attempted only two 3-pointers in his college career, making one.

"Shooting is going to be a big thing in my workouts during the pre-draft process," the Canadian told ESPN. "Every day I'm getting the reps and my routine right to show off that part of my game."

Edey finishes his Purdue career as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 2,516 and 1,321, respectively. He averaged 18.2 points, 9.6 boards and 1.7 blocks over 138 career games (108 starts) since coming to Purdue as a freshman in 2020.

—Field Level Media