Zach Edey's two worlds crossed over for an afternoon in Toronto with Purdue basketball

TORONTO — Zach Edey allowed himself to absorb this moment Saturday.

For an afternoon, the Purdue basketball center's past overlapped with his present.

Section 101 of Coca-Cola Coliseum was mostly absorbed by Edey's friends and family, many who'd known him since he was a child.

Much of the rest of the pro-Boilermaker crowd was Purdue fans who've accepted Edey as one of theirs.

After scoring 35 points and leading No. 4 Purdue to a 92-86 win over Alabama in his hometown, Edey stayed on the court after his teammates and opponents had left the floor.

He waved to the crowd after a showing where many of Edey's own family members saw him play organized basketball for the first time in person.

That was perhaps only the second-largest roar of the day for the unquestioned best player in college basketball.

With 3:42 to go, Edey set the screen just left of the top of the key, then dove to the basket as Braden Smith dribbled inside the right elbow.

The two-man game between Smith and Edey is a beautiful thing and this instance was no different.

Smith dished to the cutting Edey, who was fouled by Alabama's Rylan Griffen while converting the basket through contact.

Hoards of fans, both from Edey's past and present, erupted in cheers in a salute to the Purdue basketball star who has become a Canadian icon.

Toronto Raptors super fan Nav Bhatia was sitting right there in the front row as Edey scored the crucial bucket that gave Purdue a 79-76 lead on its way to an eventual 92-86 victory against the Crimson Tide.

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Bhatia, wearing a Canadian national team No. 15 Edey jersey, was celebrating and in that moment, Edey looked at him and let loose, too, smacking his chest and screaming, "Let's go."

Edey converted the three-point play in a moment that only further solidifies that he's the most unstoppable force in college basketball.

Maybe in a long time.

Nate Oats, the coach on the losing end despite Alabama making 19 3-pointers, certainly thinks so.

"I haven’t seen anything like him," Oats said. "When I was at Buffalo, we played against DeAndre Ayton (of Arizona and eventual No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft). He was big, strong. We were able to do a better job on Ayton by a long shot than we were able to do on Zach. ...

"He’s extremely physically imposing and he imposed his will on us for 35 points tonight. He’s going to do that to a few teams this year."

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The 35 points stand out, sure.

But what Oats would later say was that he had to change Alabama's entire game plan because of Edey.

To win, the Crimson Tide would have to space the floor and hit a lot of 3s. Which they did.

And it still wasn't enough.

Defend him in any manner, and Edey adjusts.

"If you come and double him, he’s a willing passer," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "If you don’t, we always tell him to score the basketball. He affects winning in a lot of ways."

When you have a basketball talent as rare as Zach Edey, you make an effort to do something like play a game in his hometown of Toronto, which was originally supposed to be a battle of Canadians with Alabama's Charles Bediako, who opted for the NBA and is now with the San Antonio Spurs on a two-way contract.

Edey almost turned pro.

Many laugh at the notion, saying he's not fit for the NBA game.

The days of a 7-foot-4 back-to-the-basket post who doesn't ever take a shot from outside the paint are a thing of the past.

Edey, realizing his NBA value and, like Bediako probably bouncing back-and-forth between the NBA and its developmental league, decided to return to Purdue after entering the NBA draft after he was consensus National Player of the Year last season.

"He was going to get drafted in the second round. He was probably going to get a minimum contract and he was probably going to play a lot of games in the G-League," Painter said. "That’s just a fact. He’s trying to upset the apple cart and get people to look at him because he’s a winner. Because he does things that affect the game. And people have got to deal with him. He just kind of keeps pushing the envelope.

"People think maybe he doesn’t go into a bucket at the professional level, but if you come watch our game, you walk away impressed. You walk away impressed with how hard he plays, what a good teammate he is and just how he affects the game."

Oats was certainly impressed.

And Bhatia.

Do you know who else was impressed?

Zach Edey, but not in his performance.

Rather, Edey is impressed by his influence, playing to the largely pro-Boilermaker crowd.

"I am very grateful Purdue scheduled this for me," Edey said.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Toronto trip a success for Purdue basketball and its star Zach Edey