Zach Edey Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week

We all heard about how Purdue’s freshmen were going to play large role this season. We were expecting the dynamic scoring of Brandon Newman and Jaden Ivey, the passing of Ethan Morton, or the steady play of Mason Gillis.

We forgot about Zach Edey.

The Canadian big man had a monster debut in the two season opening games in Melbourne, Florida. Against Liberty he was 9 of 10 form the floor and finished with 19 points and five rebounds as the Boilers rolled. Purdue came up short against Clemson in the championship, but he still had 17 points and 8 rebounds on 6 of 8 shooting from the floor. That’s good enough to be named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week with Adam Miller of Illinois:

The 7-foot, 4-inch freshman from Toronto averaged 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in just 18.5 minutes per game during Purdue’s appearance in the Space Coast Challenge last week. He scored 19 points with five rebounds in just 16 minutes in a 77-64 win over Liberty, then added 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes against Clemson. His nine field goals made against Liberty in just 16 minutes marked the first time in at least the last 25 years that a Big Ten player made at least nine field goals in 16 or fewer minutes.

Edey currently ranks third nationally among players that have played at least two games in field goal percentage (.833) and leads the country in dunks with eight. His 19 points were the third most by a Purdue true freshman in school history. His 36 points in the first two games are the fourth most by a true freshman in school history (Russell Cross, Vince Edwards, Nate Minnoy).

The last Freshman of the Week from Purdue was some guy named Carsen Edwards in 2017, who had a decent Purdue career of note.