Purdue Basketball: 3 reasons why Zach Edey made right decision to return to school

Edey has a chance to repeat as National Player of the Year

Winning the College Basketball National Player of the Year award is an honor that has been bestowed upon a select group of players over the years. Last season, Zach Edey made a clean sweep of all the major awards, being hailed as the best player in the Nation by the Associated Press, the Naismith College Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award.

Returning to Purdue’s campus for one last season means Edey will have the chance to do something very few men have ever done, be named the college player of the year in back-to-back seasons. In fact, the achievement is so rare it hasn’t been done in 40 years. The last man to do it was Ralph Sampson for the Virginia Cavaliers in 1983.

Like Edey, Sampson was listed at 7’4″ and played the Center position. Similarly, both men were difficult to stop on offense and also knew how to make their presence felt on defense. However, unlike Edey, Sampson would have almost certainly been the first pick in the draft after his junior year had he decided to join the professional ranks. This year’s top selection will undoubtedly be Victor Wembanyama, the 19-year-old French sensation. Afterward, Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson will hear their names called; Edey place in the first round would be difficult to determine.

While playing in the NBA is certainly Edey’s ultimate dream, having grown up in Toronto he undoubtedly watched many Raptors’ games, he has given himself a chance to enter the history books in a unique fashion. He is already joined rare company by winning the National Player of the Year. Doing it twice would put him in a truly elite class in the annals of college basketball lore.