As we’re solely a month away from the beginning of the 2024-25 NBA marketing campaign, Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley warned the league that Zach Edey will dominate the paint for the Grizzlies. After being picked because the ninth general choice on this previous draft, many individuals nonetheless surprise if the seven-foot-four athlete will thrive within the large stage.
Nonetheless, the reality is that the large man had already made a reputation for himself in school basketball. Only recently, Brantley was watching tv and noticed a sports activities television present snub the middle from their prime 5 large males heading into this subsequent season, and proceeded to inform his former pupil by way of a textual content message.
This was pure technique from Brandon. “I knew he was pissed off,” he admitted to The Industrial Attraction. “When he’s pissed off, he simply hits you with the ‘OK,’ however that OK has a lot fireplace behind it.”
Ja Morant on Zach Edey:
“Positively Rookie of the Yr. I feel simple too.”
Edey made it by way of Ja’s low season coaching “boot camp” and Ja is admittedly excited by what he noticed 🔥
One thing particular is brewing in Memphis👀🐻
— EdeyMuse (@EdeyMuse) September 21, 2024
“They’re simply not going to let Zach swap off and get cooked the entire sport,” Brantley continued. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s five-on-five.cHim doing this routine on a regular basis can be just like the equal of me and also you brushing our tooth day-after-day. He takes 12-foot hook pictures and makes them prefer it’s nothing.”
Edey is rather more than only a seven-footer who can defend the rim, as he’s additionally produced a signature hook shot that has caught many individuals’s consideration, together with his teammates in Memphis. After understanding every week with Ja Morant, that All-Star even proclaimed him the subsequent Rookie of the Yr.
“Clearly he’s 7-4, however his contact, he was capturing the ball very nicely,” the Grizzlies star mentioned, as he’s recovered from his personal damage and is happy to hit the ground subsequent month. “Rookie of the 12 months is just about all I can say.”
Brantley, however, simply can’t watch for the NBA to appreciate his potential. “Memphis goes to have a dude in that paint that’s going to carry that paint down,” he mentioned. “Normally guys that dimension will attempt to rebound their space. He rebounds exterior of his space. It means one thing to him.”
The Grizzles common supervisor referred to as him a ‘particular match’ for his staff and is satisfied that there are a lot of misconceptions round Edey’s sport
Let’s keep in mind one thing, a couple of months in the past Zach grew to become the primary participant in over 4 many years to earn The Related Press’ mens’ school basketball participant of the 12 months award in consecutive seasons. His new common supervisor trusts this was their greatest end result.
“Zach Edey is a very particular match [for the franchise],” mentioned Grizzlies’ Zach Kleiman through the NBA Draft in June. “In attending to know him, we’re speaking about somebody whose competitiveness is thru the roof, care issue is thru the roof. No ego, simply desires to win.”
Now we will solely wait to see how his freakishly large dimension will translate to the NBA courts, as he will probably be one of many tallest gamers within the league this coming season. Final 12 months, Houston’s Boban Marjanovic, Phoenix’s Bol Bol and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama have been all listed at 7-foot-3 or taller.
Zach has loved regular progress all through his school years, averaging 22.3 factors and 12.9 rebounds as a junior, after which 25.2 factors and 12.2 rebounds throughout his senior season which took the Boilermakers all the way in which to the NCAA title sport towards Connecticut.