Zach Edey Named to Abdul-Jabbar Watch List

In a shock to no one who has paid attention to college basketball in the last two years Zach Edey was named to the watch list for the Abdul-Jabbar award. As its name would suggest this is the award given to the top center in the country. Twenty players are placed on this list prior to the season.

Edey is one of three Big Ten players on the list. He joins Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Rutgers’ Cliff Omoruyi. It will certainly make for some interesting battles down low this season. We are just days away now from seeing this big man step back onto the court.

A majority of the release is below.

It marks the seventh time in the last eight seasons that Purdue has had a player named to the initial Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list (A.J. Hammons – 2016; Isaac Haas – 2017, 2018; Matt Haarms – 2020; Trevion Williams – 2021; Zach Edey – 2022, 2023).

Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will open up on today so your fans can vote for their favorite players in each of the three rounds. Please help promote the fan voting to your fan base through your social media channels. The top 10 player selections from the fan vote will get an additional vote towards making the next round.

This list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then 5 finalists will be selected in March that will be presented to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the selection committee. The winner of this award will be presented on a to be determined date. Presentation details will be announced at a later date.

Edey, a preseason All-American and unanimous choice on the preseason All-Big Ten team, was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree and honorable mention All-American (AP) a year ago after averaging 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in just 19.0 minutes per game, while leading the Big Ten and ranking third nationally in field goal percentage at 64.8 percent – the fifth-best single-season percentage in school history.

He is the only player in the last 30 years to average 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks in under 20 minutes per game. In fact, he is one of just five players to accomplish that in under 25.0 minutes per game.

Edey, a 7-foot, 4-inch center from Toronto, recorded 11 double-doubles during the 2021-22 season and was named to the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points in wins over North Carolina and Villanova in November. He tallied a career-high 25 points against Michigan State in February and scored 20 or more points in nine games. He will carry a streak of 17 straight games in double-figures into the 2022-23 season.

He was at his best against ranked teams. In nine games against ranked squads, Edey averaged 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in just 20.2 minutes per game, while shooting 60.6 percent from the field.

The Boilermakers will open the regular season on Nov. 8, when Milwaukee visits Mackey Arena. Purdue’s lone exhibition game will be Nov. 2, when Truman State visits West Lafayette. Single-game tickets remain for only the New Orleans (Dec. 21) and Florida A&M (Dec. 29) games.