The Memphis Grizzlies using their No. 9 pick at the 2024 NBA Draft to select Purdue Boilermakers giant Zach Edey left a lot of people scratching their heads.
Even Edey was surprised to hear his name when it was the Grizzlies’ turn to pick in the first round, as he thought Memphis had already lost interest in him.
I mean, they played their cards well. I had no idea that they were interested. But I mean, they’ve been on me since like, I was a sophomore. They were always a team that was really interested in me and had a lot of belief in me. Like, they were really the only team that believed in me and would have given me a deal, Edey told reporters (h/t Bally Sports Grizzlies).
My sophomore year, that’s always kind of resonated with me. That’s always stuck with me. I was I was actually disappointed this year. I never heard from them. And then the draft comes up and all of a sudden I’m getting picked. So it caught me off guard. But I mean, [I] couldn’t be happier.
Memphis Grizzlies hoping that Zach Edey brings more than just size to the team
Edey dominated at the college level but there are still doubts about whether he’s got what it takes to stand out in the NBA outside of the fact that he’s taller than nearly everyone in the league. With the Grizzlies, Edey has a chance to silence the naysayers.
During his final year in college, he led the Boilermakers to the NCAA national championship game, coming just short of winning the title, as they lost to Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies. He averaged 23.8 points on 62.3 percent shooting from the floor, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in his last two years with the Boilermakers.
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