Zach Edey makes NBA Draft announcement after leading Purdue to Final Four

Zach Edey has made it official. Purdue’s top scorer and rebounder in program history has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft.

Edey tested the draft waters in 2023, but opted to return to the Boilermakers for another run. This time, Edey appears to be moving on. Edey has played four seasons of college basketball, but the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver gives Edey the option to return for a fifth season.

Earlier this year, Matt Painter shut down the idea of Edey coming back to Purdue for the 2024-25 campaign.

“No, this is his last year at Purdue,” Painter said on Jon Rothstein’s podcast. “No window. No window. This is it.”

Edey, too, indicates that he’s ready to move on to the next level.

“I felt like it was time,” Edey told Jonathan Givony of ESPN to announce his entry into the draft. “I showed that I’m a physical presence on offense this season. I also showed I can play defense. I can guard in space, even defend guards.”

ESPN ranks Edey the No. 14 prospect in the 2024 draft class. While Edey memorably took note of every college coach who overlooked him, he appears to be less concerned with where he is taken in the draft.

“The number doesn’t matter,” Edey told ESPN. “I’m focused on the teams that believe in me. I want to find a coaching staff that believes in me and what I can do.”

Edey leaves following a decorated college career

Edey leaves Purdue as a two-time National Player of the Year selection for 2023 and ’24. He was also named a consensus All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year each of the past two seasons.

Edey logged 2,516 points and 1,321 rebounds in his career. He’s part of an exclusive club of just 6 B1G players to hit the 2,000/1,000 mark.

By his junior season, Edey averaged a double-double of 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game over 34 contests in 2022-23.

Edey was again good for a double-double per game this past season, posting 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds over 32 minutes per contest. This past season, Edey was the NCAA season scoring leader.