When it comes to Purdue under head coach Matt Painter, one does not have to look far in order to find an impactful center. That is especially true this season with two star big men.

That duo is Trevion Williams and 7-foot-4 Zach Edey. Together, the pair has averaged 26+ points and 15+ rebounds with Edey shooting 65% from the floor and Williams averaging better than 3 assists per game.

Leading up to the Sweet 16 game vs. Saint Peter’s, Edey and Williams were asked about Purdue’s “lineage” of successful centers. In particular, Purdue has been a home for multiple players over 7-feet in recent years with Isaac Haas (7-foot-2) and Matt Haarms (7-foot-3) pre-dating Edey’s arrival.

Edey pointed out it has a lot to do with how the Boilermakers play and practice with an emphasis on playing through the post:

“Yeah, it’s really just the way we play on offense and the way that we play on defense. On offense we really try to stress getting the ball inside, even in practice,” said Edey. “It’s not just in the game. Every day they’re stressing for us to post touches, for us to get comfortable with the ball down low, for us to make the right reads of a double-team, stuff like that.

“We have great coaches obviously with Coach Brantley and Coach Painter. They really know how to develop big people because they’ve been through it with a bunch of big people. Just working on the fundamentals. It’s not like we do anything really crazy. I don’t think I do anything crazy. Isaac never really did anything crazy. Matt doesn’t do anything crazy. Trevion, he does some crazy stuff, but it still works.

“But it’s really sticking to fundamentals and keeping it simple for the most part for me.”

Williams also addressed the question and pointed to the ability of Painter and his coaching staff to understand and get to know each individual person as opposed to just working with the guys as players:

“I mean, yeah, just kind of to bounce off that, I think most importantly for our coaches, they do stress to get the ball down low, and sometimes the big man game gets forgotten about in today’s world,” Williams pointed out. “I would say outside of basketball, I think the one thing that separates our coaches from other coaches is how well they communicate with the person rather than player. They take time to get to know you and understand you as a person, and I think it makes it easier on the court.”

In regards to the Sweet 16, Purdue will try and maximize its big men against Saint Peter’s. No player in the starting lineup for the Peacocks hits 6-foot-9, presenting a big size advantage for the Boilermakers. Hopefully, Edey and Williams can take advantage Friday evening.