WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue junior center Zach Edey has been named a semifinalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation’s top center, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.
Edey is considered the front-runner for National Player of the Year accolades. He recently picked up his sixth Big Ten Player of the Week award, tied for the most in school history (Caleb Swanigan – 2017) and the second most in a season in Big Ten history (Ohio State’s Evan Turner – 2011).
For the season, Edey is averaging 22.1 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 62.6 percent from the field and 74.2 percent from the free throw line. In Big Ten play, his averages increase to 22.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.8 assists per game.
He ranks fifth in the country in scoring, second in rebounds, first in double-doubles, 14th in field goal percentage and 16th in blocked shots.
He has recorded six 30-10 games this season, more than the rest of the Big Ten combined (5) and currently owns the most-efficient season for any player since at least the 2009-10 season, according to sports-reference.com(.) His six 30-10 games are the second most in a season for a major-college player in the last 20 years, behind the seven by Marvin Bagley of Duke in 2017-18.
Edey is doing most of his damage against the nation’s top teams. In 11 games against the nation’s top-50, he is averaging 24.0 points and 13.1 rebounds, while shooting over 60.0 percent. Edey (2.269) is ranked No. 1 in KenPom’s Player of the Year ratings by a significant margin over the 2nd-ranked player, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis.
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