Purdue's Zach Edey named Naismith National Player of the Year
Purdue center Zach Edey was named the Naismith National Player of the Year on Sunday.
A junior All-American, Edey led Purdue to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament before the Boilermakers fell victim to the biggest upset in tournament history with a first-round loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. He was previously named the Associated Press National Player of the Year and is a finalist for the Wooden Award.
"It's been everything I could have expected coming back to school this year," Edey said after winning the award. "It's been everything I could have expected and more."
A former three-star recruit, Edey joined Purdue as a freshman in 2020 ranked outside of the nation's top 150 prospects. He grew up playing hockey and baseball in Canada and didn't play organized basketball until high school.
His 7-foot-4 frame made him a recruiting target for Purdue, and he spent his freshman season coming off the bench while averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He earned a starting role as a sophomore last season and upped his averages to 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
He developed into the nation's most dominant post player during the 2022-23 regular season, averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 60.7% from the floor. Purdue finished 29-6 and won the Big Ten regular season title.
Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang earned Naismith Coach of the Year honors. He led the Wildcats to a 26-10 record and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight, where they lost a 79-76 thriller to FAU.
UCLA's Jaylen Clark earned Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honors. A two-time member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive team, Clark averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game as a junior.
