YouTube Gold: Zach Edey Rising?
He’s been a surprise in summer league. Can he do it in the regular season as well?
We’ve had two contradictory thoughts for a while now. First: the NBA is a cyclical league where styles and philosophies come and go, but in the end, big men rule. Lately, the idea of positionless basketball has made it more difficult for pure big guys to do well. But if you get a guy like David Robinson, Shaquille O’ Neal or Hakeem Olajuwon? Would you really care if they have guard skills?
Nope.
Idea #2: Despite his immense size, Purdue product Zach Edey is too slow to play in the modern NBA.
We might be wrong on that one.
Aside from his size, Edey has some really nice attributes, not least of all his willingness to work hard. He’s really transformed his body and he apparently tested out really well on things like agility and lateral quickness - far more than most people, including us, would have expected.
He’s made a real impression in summer league play, at least until he hurt his ankle, and now he has a chance to make an impression on the league too. It’s going to be fun to watch.