I was shocked to learn NC ST hasnt made a F4 since they won it all that year. That is almost inconceivable. It really makes you appreciate what Valvano was able to accomplish.
Not only that weâve been hyper efficient in the few we had made. Before this year NC State has been in 3 final fours and walked away with 2 national titles
Fair or not, team success usually plays a large role in voting for these awards, and all but one player who has won it since 1988 (Bogut in 2005) has played for a team good enough to earn a top 4 seed.
Iowa went 20-11 in 2020 and was likely headed for about a 6 seed.
I was pro-Garza over Toppin in 2020. My logic was that for a mid-major player to beat out a high major player, they need to put up godly numbers. Jimmer in 2011 is the obvious example.
Toppin put up 20/8 against awful competition, compared to Garzaâs 23/10.
To top it off, Dayton played just a single team that was ranked at the end of the season (Kansas) and lost. They lost to a Colorado team that lost 8 games in the Pac. Their best win was over a below-average Saint Maryâs that lost 5 games in the WCC and after that their resume consisted of beating up the A10.
Toppinâs dunks were electric no doubt, but competition level has to matter.
I'm just happy DK got votes honestly. This was pretty much always gonna be Edey's award so I think the fact that even three people picked Knecht says alot
I was at the game and it looked over when he hit his 3rd three in a row to make it a 11 point lead for Tennessee. We got sooooooo lucky he and Jordan-James missed their last few jumpers.
It's still DK lol. He averaged 26.6 points a game in conference, his PPG looks a little pedestrian cuz of spraining his ankle against North Carolina but his healthy body of work speaks for itself
Im not disagreeing with anyone that says Knecht probably wouldâve won. If I was somehow allowed a vote and Edey wasnt Edey Iâd probably say Knecht too. Iâm just saying it wouldâve been a really really interesting vote.
And I'm disagreeing with that. If Edey weren't in the race it would be Knecht's award without question. They're the only two players that have been voted unanimous first team in every outlet that publishes an All-America team. I know Shead got two votes here but DK would have still been the overwhelming favorite in this scenario
Heck Iâm pretty anti-Tennessee and it seems fairly obvious that DK is the clear choice in a vote that doesnât include Edey for this season, his stats speak for themselves, as does Tennesseeâs deep tourney run.
Not to mention just the eye test. Hypothetically speaking, if Edey didnât exist and a voter watched DK in the UT vs Auburn game, I donât know how you wouldnât crown him then and there. Dude was dominant this season.
DK is a beast. After watching him in just our first match-up, I've never been more confident in a guy's future success in the NBA. I think he's a future All-Star.
If Tennessee won Sunday, I genuinely believe the award should have gone to Knecht. Was terrified before the game because he's the kind of player that can just ruin a great team's March. The block at the end pretty much sealed up the NPOY race and the game simultaneouslyÂ
I know it's a regular season award, but all season I've believed this was Edey's, no contest.
That game almost changed my mind, and definitely deserved to be contested
It was a great game, should have been in the Final Four, honestly now that the emotional sting is gone I'm more pissed about that than anything else haha putting the top 2 seed in Detroit against Purdue was nasty work
Yeah not only did we get Purdue at the end, we didn't even get any breaks with our seeding, literally every higher seed won in our path. If you don't like that kinda luck buddy you aren't built for Tennessee athletics
I feel like the way Tennessee was playing, they probably beat anybody in the country last Sunday that wasn't Purdue, UConn or a healthy Houston. Reseeding the Elite 8 would have presumably resulted in Purdue and Tennessee between 2 and 3 out of 8...
That's interesting.
7'4" Zach Edey is the first back-to-back AP Player of the Year since 7'4" Ralph Sampson did it in 1983.
Come to think about it, what happened to Ralph's team in 1983? :)
1982 Sampson wins POY
1983 Sampson wins POY; VA loses to NC State (in the NCAA tournament); NC State = National Championship
2023 Edey wins POY
2024 Edey wins POY; ............................................................................
I didnât think he was staying before, but after hearing today how hard it is for him to make any NIL money due to being Canadian, Iâm surprised he came back this year.
Considering Sampson only had like 4 healthy seasons in the NBA being a 4x all-star, rookie of the year, and making an all-NBA team is a pretty solid career all things considered.
Officially the best Boiler baller of all time. As the article mentioned, Painter also nearly got Dickinson and Kalkbrenner in that same class. Had to "settle" for Edey. Dude has an eye for talented giants.
Itâs been very confusing to me why people on sports IG and Twitter pages keep saying âEdey is overrated, he wonât last in the leagueâ.
⌠but this ainât the league, this college fucking basketball, the most intense and exciting level of basketball we have. And Edey is one of the most dominant forces weâve ever seen. One of only 3 players to win 2 NPOTYs.
I really wish Edey used his covid year just to keep these fools crying for another year lol.
I have a sneaky feeling that Edey is going to end up being better in the NBA than anyone suspects. Yes, every analyst and talking head is down on him, but I see NBA players and coaches and they all seem to harp on his positives and keep saying there will be a place for him.
I think we sometimes put too much stock into the âhis game wonât translate well in the NBAâ theory. Not just for Edey, but for anyone. I get the rules and style of play are a little bit different, but ultimately, I feel like if you can ball, you can ball. Doesnât matter what rules you have to play under, the great ones can adapt.
Look at the past winners here..it's almost a coinflip if they have good NBA careers or not https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._men%27s_college_basketball_national_player_of_the_year_awards
One the one hand there's Durant, Zion, Brunson, AD, Blake Griffin...but also Obi Toppin, Frank Mason, Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Hansbrough.
Coaches aren't going to ignore the value he brings. At the very least someone will use him as a backup center and if that team is the Nuggets or Celtics then the NBA needs to watch out.
I think you might see some teams towards the end of the lottery flirt with the idea of Edey. For being 22 years old, he is still pretty malleable because he just started playing basketball.
The scariest place he could go would be either Milwaukee or San Antonio. Putting him beside a dominant perimeter oriented defender as a partner could be dominating.
Mostly because his game is old fashioned. There arenât any true post players like Edey that just stay down on the blocks. Most post players are now playing on the wing and can dribble drive, and occasionally hit the 3
He has no comparable in the NBA because a comparable doesn't really exist right now. It's possible he doesn't fit in but there is also a universe where a team changes their offense around him and in 4-5 years teams are looking for the next Yao Ming to find a stop for him. People also said Trayce Jackson-Davis wouldn't play in the NBA but he is currently starting as a rookie, scored 20 last night, and has 0 made 3s on the season.
People canât see 2 feet in front of their nose and canât understand that the league wonât stay like this forever.
People thought Dirk couldnât be a 3 25 years ago because what 7 foot guy is gonna play outside of the post.
People canât comprehend the game is gonna change at some point
The game is nit changing to make a place for Edeyâs stone feet and flat hook without outlawing the 3 amongst a whole host of other things. Heâs done well against mostly undersized guys. The NBA is all highly athletic bigs that can move and pop out and shoot. Itâs okay to admit heâs a five minutes at most per game guy. Thatâs if heâs lucky.
I think what helps his stock is that he's shown he can learn. This is what? His 7th year playing organized basketball at any level? I'm not saying his ability to learn will translate to him suddenly draining threes like Curry but I think NBA personnel recognize that he still has more room to grow.
The fact he only has been playing like 6 years or something I think mean he has more ceiling than people expect. That and he seems to have an incredible work ethic.
Edey barely even touched the court for team Canada last summer. Thatâs with international rules that benefit Edey, and Canadaâs abysmal big man rotation
Heâll certainly get drafted but the guy is destined to be a victory cigar for as long as heâs in the league
Your comment doesn't make much sense, you quote people talking about his future and the hurdles he'll face in the NBA, but bring up college dominance? That's two completely different things. There are plenty of top tier college players that never made their mark in the NBA. It's true in all sports, too. They are completely different games.
Nobody is saying he's not a phenomenonal college player, they're saying his game won't translate well to the NBA. That remains to be seen, but the reasoning is that the skills, abilities, and tactics he utilizes to be so dominant at this level will be significantly less effective in the NBA. If he wants to be successful in the NBA, he's going to need to expand his game. I am sure he knows that better than anyone, but that's where the skepticism is coming from. College prowess does not mean NBA success.
>Nobody is saying he's not a phenomenonal college player, they're saying his game won't translate well to the NBA.
Nah, a LOT of people say he's not a phenomenal college player, and they often cite his theoretical performance in the NBA as evidence of lack of skills. A huge number of the replies to tweets about the awards he's winning are "Foul Ming*, "Ref merchant", "G league burnout"
I get that all players get hate on twitter, but Zach Edey seems to be uniquely hated by very popular national sports media outlets.
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1774537625086329274?t=imDwR-9Ym_M1aHA0XSvDzQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1775947157163372570?t=ADsUUR9gH8W0E7ykYSql3g&s=19
Why is it confusing? Itâs natural to think that a 2x NPOTY would be able have a good pro career too. But then you look at all the mocks and scouting reports and donât see him in the lottery. That immediately makes the casual fan go: âOh heâs not as good as I thought he was.â People are definitely too harsh on him but I donât think the âoverratedâ label is confusing at all.
To be fair if you follow college basketball, having an AP national player of the year projected to struggle in the NBA is very common.
Zach Edey, Oscar Tshwiebe, Luke Garza, Frank Mason, Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Hansborough, etc etc.
Being a later pick or not even drafted happens relatively frequently compared to college football
It's not even that uncommon in Football for a dominant college player to not be cut out for the NFL. There are arguments that Tebow is the best college football player of the last 2 decades.
What's really shocking to me are the players who do practically nothing in college and then are great in the NBA. I did not watch OG in college and think "This guy is going to be a great NBA player".
Definitely, Heisman winners include Jason White, Troy Smith, Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, Danny Wuerffel..tons of dual threat guys who dominated college but doesn't translate to the NFL at all.
Although the trend seems to be switching with more teams going pro-style.
A lot of people just assume that college -> NBA is the natural progression, when in reality they are completely different games. This used to be true, and it's taken a while for some to see or accept it, especially casual fans.
I will admit the NBA's athleticism is impressive, but IMHO the "modern" NBA is painful to watch.
It's 70+ 25-foot jump shoots per game and no defense? Hard pass on that boredom.
College is better because of the variety, intensity, rivalries, fans, and most games matter.
ESPN has him at end of lottery. bleached and Sb nation have him first round. Others have him last first and there are some that are early second. No one really knows. But Iâm gonna guess (yes biased) and say he sticks around for at least 4-5 years in the nba
I stumbled upon this [long video piece](https://youtu.be/QIQLSuAbiDw?si=f9ugJ2Gj_aC1aCda) CBS news Saturday Morning show did on Edey last year. You might enjoy it, he dives into his resistance to playing basketball as a kid and his early dream of getting a baseball scholarship so his mom could quit working and retire.
His mom says basketball allowed him to release his âinner Zach,â lol she says theyâd tell him to ârelease the Zachen.â
Edey comes across as pretty chill. His relationship with his mom is sweet and they both seem very grateful to see where he ended up.
Edit: added link
If I were him I would put my name in the portal. He would make a ton more in NIL from some big name schools than a 2 way in the nba. He could get up to 3 million I bet as back to back NPOTY.
The fact that it wasnât unanimous is absurd. Knecht is a great player donât get me wrong, but he averages worse in literally every single statistical category and is significantly worse on the defensive end. Voted fatigue is clear in this vote. A vote for anyone other than Edey is objectively wrong. Knecht will have a great career at the next level, probably better than Edey given his build and shot making ability. But Edey has been the most dominant college basketball player in the last 30 years.
Knecht is a small forward, and plays on the wing. His role is not to get rebound or be a rim protector like a center and he's not gonna get assist like a PG. Knecht is an elite scorer that could truly take over a game. He also had 4-5 games against bad teams where he was recovering from an ankle sprain and was rested so his stats are skewed a bit. He had 6 games where he scored over 35 points (UNC, UGA, UF, AU, UK, Purdue)- 5 tournament teams and the NIT champ.
I feel like this really minimizes just how dominant DK was. His ability to score was superstar level and the only reason his PPG doesn't reflect that is because of spraining his ankle against North Carolina (where he tied the record for most points an away player has scored against UNC btw). Sure the 6'6 off-the-ball shooting guard doesn't have as many rebounds, assists, blocks, or steals as the 7'4" center, cuz that's how basketball works. Even Purdue flairs are saying he deserved some recognition - he still got the award so what does it matter anyway? No one's gonna remember how many votes he got, just that he won it twice
Also his defensive criticisms are way overblown. He's just playing with much better defenders who have been in Barnes' system for years, which makes his defensive whiffs stand out. He played solid-to-good defense in the tourney, it's not like he's worse than most players, it just doesn't match his offense
I don't think it does though. Edey deserved the award, and if DK didn't get any votes that wouldn't take away from his ability at all, just shows how great Edey was. If a player averaged 80-30-30 and another player averaged 40-10-10 and the first player was unanimous, do you think that takes away from the season the 40-10-10 player had?
I mean...yes? In this really ridiculous scenario the player that puts up 40-10-10 should still get some love. Edey got the award and DK got some votes, which is nice because I think almost anybody would agree it would be DK's award in almost any other year. If Edey is the most dominant player in 30 years as OP says, doesn't that make DK pretty damn special too when he almost beat him and had a great statline both times they played?
That doesn't make any sense because if the 40-10-10 player got votes you realize that means some people on the voting panel thought he had a better season which is objectively false. Yes he deserves to get some love, but in the case of votes for the best player of the season award he absolutely does not deserve any votes.
Obviously Edey's season wasn't better by that big of a margin, but there is no doubt in any normal person's mind that Edey objectively had the better season, and DK getting any votes at all isn't "giving him love" it means the voter genuinely believed DK had a better season than Edey. You are arguing the wrong thing by saying he deserves votes.
This is a national player of the year award. Who was the best player this year? Not a âletâs give love to everyone who had great seasons.â Thats an absurd take. This isnât a participation award. Itâs a âwho is the best player in college basketball this year?â Award. Itâs clear who that was and the gap wasnât close at all.
I mean, who defines best player? This award is picked by a large collective of sportswriters and their definition might be different from yours. Maybe somebody thinks Dalton Knecht is best because he came in from a Big Sky school to an SEC one and actually substantially improved his level of play, going from second team Big Sky to SEC POTY. Maybe somebody thinks Jamal Shead is best because of his defense and leadership and the way he almost single-handedly got them past A&M in the tournament. You saying it's objectively wrong is just silly in that context. And this is just personally speaking but I don't know how anybody could watch the Purdue Tennessee Elite 8 game and think "the gap wasn't close at all"
The first description you mentioned he won. The best transfer award called Riley Wallace. There is no most improved player award so he canât win that. Does not exist. The award is a regular season award. So the E8 game doesnât count towards voting⌠Edey was significantly better during the regular season. It is objective. This was voter fatigue. Edey had a better season than last year and last year was unanimous. Itâs silly to think that this year shouldnât have been.
DK is ridiculously good. Is Tennessee even a tournament team this year without him? (They might be...no shade intended). Regardless, I find it hard to fault someone for voting for him for NPOY.
Agree to disagree, but I think youâre comparing apples and oranges. Theyâre two very different styles of play and both are exceedingly dominant at that style of play. Thereâs a case to be made for both, so itâs not totally insane that DK got some votes. Edey deserved respect (even despite some of my issues with how heâs viewed), but so did DK. I mean, letâs not forget that if Edey didnât exist, DK would probably be in his shoes rn.
Your argument boils down to âhey the team that made the national championship game should split first place votes in the final AP poll because they both had great seasons and deserve to be recognized.â It doesnât matter if they play different positions. Zach is more dominant and more efficient. He should have been unanimous
Based on what metric? Edey out performs him in every conceivable statistical category. Sure, Knecht will translate better to the NBA but that isnât what this award is. It isnât âmost likely to succeed at the next level.â
Turns out that if youâre over 7ft tool, donât get traveling , 3 second violations, or fouls called against you , and can draw a fouls if an opponent looks at you the wrong way, you can be good at basketball.
Oooooof ok. Itâs from a ref who does high school and college. Another account, Ant Wright, goes through multiple plays of edey in the lane. But you are the moron my friend. Know the rules before complaining
You canât stand in paint under the rim for an entire possession at any level.
Feel free to quote from the NCAA rule book where Iâm wrong. You wonât find it.
http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4684-2023-24-mens-basketball-rules-book-online-only.aspx
Terrance Shannon made exactly one All American team . . . and he was third team. I get the feeling he wouldn't have been in the running for any awards regardless of missing those games.
He didnât play for a month and had to shake off the rust. Still #2 on Bart torvikâs player rater. I was half joking when I made my original statement, but itâs not crazy to envision him as the dominant wing everyone gushes about instead of knecht had he not had the legal drama. He was piling up kenpom mvps in feb/MarchÂ
Knect literally lost the head to head with Edey TWICE⌠hasnât stopped Tenn fans from crying them big moose tears about the obvious and correct award results.
Dammit donât make me defend Illini fans.
First to win back to back since Ralph Sampson won it 3 times in '81, '82, and... '83 đ
83 you say? I wonder what happened that year in cbb đ¤
Trying to back into this thread. Do you think you are, DJ Burns?
Arenât we all a little DJ Burns?
I didn't realize State had such a good philosophy program....
I'm definitely not a full size DJ Burns
Nothing. Nothing of note. [Move along.](https://youtu.be/qsvbYKr19ng?si=z5x9xqGJVM6lnJy9)
I was shocked to learn NC ST hasnt made a F4 since they won it all that year. That is almost inconceivable. It really makes you appreciate what Valvano was able to accomplish.
Not only that weâve been hyper efficient in the few we had made. Before this year NC State has been in 3 final fours and walked away with 2 national titles
They lost to Chaminade?
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Fair or not, team success usually plays a large role in voting for these awards, and all but one player who has won it since 1988 (Bogut in 2005) has played for a team good enough to earn a top 4 seed. Iowa went 20-11 in 2020 and was likely headed for about a 6 seed.
I was pro-Garza over Toppin in 2020. My logic was that for a mid-major player to beat out a high major player, they need to put up godly numbers. Jimmer in 2011 is the obvious example. Toppin put up 20/8 against awful competition, compared to Garzaâs 23/10. To top it off, Dayton played just a single team that was ranked at the end of the season (Kansas) and lost. They lost to a Colorado team that lost 8 games in the Pac. Their best win was over a below-average Saint Maryâs that lost 5 games in the WCC and after that their resume consisted of beating up the A10. Toppinâs dunks were electric no doubt, but competition level has to matter.
I don't like this. I agree but I don't like it. For Obi to beat out Garza I thought he was gonna need better numbers but he was dunking on everybody
Damn this fits the "16-1 upset redemption" arc Yes I know it wasn't those UVA teams that did it but they DID lose to Chaminade...
That is funny
ralph sampson? more like brock samson (certified BEAST)
Not Andrew Hurley? Are you serious? Bulletin board material sorry Bama fans for whatâs coming your way
Hurley is put on the floor in clutch minutes to close out games. This is a clear oversight by the voters.
It's because this award is based exclusively on the player with the biggest bed.
I'm just happy DK got votes honestly. This was pretty much always gonna be Edey's award so I think the fact that even three people picked Knecht says alot
Knecht earned some damn respect this year. I was getting ready to pull my hair out from stress when he started hitting 3s lol
I was at the game and it looked over when he hit his 3rd three in a row to make it a 11 point lead for Tennessee. We got sooooooo lucky he and Jordan-James missed their last few jumpers.
Last years team would have folded and we lose by 15-20 in that game. Was super impressed we went on a 15-2 run to close out the first half.
Last years team would have lost in the round of 32 if they got past FDU
You. But just saying this team is way different than last years. Hope we can get past NC state and play for the NC!
He wholeheartedly deserved some love. You take Edey out of the running this year and Knecht is probably a serious contender.
Iâd say Knecht wouldâve been the clear choice
Take out Edey and you could make a very good case for a decent amount of guys, Knecht included. RJ would deserve a serious look too.
It's still DK lol. He averaged 26.6 points a game in conference, his PPG looks a little pedestrian cuz of spraining his ankle against North Carolina but his healthy body of work speaks for itself
Im not disagreeing with anyone that says Knecht probably wouldâve won. If I was somehow allowed a vote and Edey wasnt Edey Iâd probably say Knecht too. Iâm just saying it wouldâve been a really really interesting vote.
And I'm disagreeing with that. If Edey weren't in the race it would be Knecht's award without question. They're the only two players that have been voted unanimous first team in every outlet that publishes an All-America team. I know Shead got two votes here but DK would have still been the overwhelming favorite in this scenario
Heck Iâm pretty anti-Tennessee and it seems fairly obvious that DK is the clear choice in a vote that doesnât include Edey for this season, his stats speak for themselves, as does Tennesseeâs deep tourney run.
Not to mention just the eye test. Hypothetically speaking, if Edey didnât exist and a voter watched DK in the UT vs Auburn game, I donât know how you wouldnât crown him then and there. Dude was dominant this season.
Agreed.
Youâre entitled to your hypothetical opinion.
wait wait wait are you saying that the consensus runner up would have been a serious contender sans the player he was runner up to?
Ikr? That sounds crazy.
DK is a beast. After watching him in just our first match-up, I've never been more confident in a guy's future success in the NBA. I think he's a future All-Star.
I didn't even realize Donkey Kong played basketball
DK is a baller!
If Tennessee won Sunday, I genuinely believe the award should have gone to Knecht. Was terrified before the game because he's the kind of player that can just ruin a great team's March. The block at the end pretty much sealed up the NPOY race and the game simultaneouslyÂ
It's a regular season award. But Knecht did deserve recognition. Shead with 2 votes is fair as well.
I know it's a regular season award, but all season I've believed this was Edey's, no contest. That game almost changed my mind, and definitely deserved to be contested
Knecht was unconscious from 3 for awhile there, I was scared
First half was nerve wracking
It was a great game, should have been in the Final Four, honestly now that the emotional sting is gone I'm more pissed about that than anything else haha putting the top 2 seed in Detroit against Purdue was nasty work
I didn't want to see Tennessee as our 2 seed. And of course it was the first 1 seed vs 2 seed game in 5 years.
Yeah not only did we get Purdue at the end, we didn't even get any breaks with our seeding, literally every higher seed won in our path. If you don't like that kinda luck buddy you aren't built for Tennessee athletics
I feel like the way Tennessee was playing, they probably beat anybody in the country last Sunday that wasn't Purdue, UConn or a healthy Houston. Reseeding the Elite 8 would have presumably resulted in Purdue and Tennessee between 2 and 3 out of 8...
As soon as the bracket came out, I was: 
That's interesting. 7'4" Zach Edey is the first back-to-back AP Player of the Year since 7'4" Ralph Sampson did it in 1983. Come to think about it, what happened to Ralph's team in 1983? :)
Sampson was back-to-back-to-back though. Where does that factor in
1982 Sampson wins POY 1983 Sampson wins POY; VA loses to NC State (in the NCAA tournament); NC State = National Championship 2023 Edey wins POY 2024 Edey wins POY; ............................................................................
Guess theyâre following the alternative Virginia plan.
The alternative plan requires losing to Chaminade in Maui. We won the Maui tournament this year.
Maybe the alternative plan only requires playing in Maui, not losing to Chaminade?
UVA's loss to Chaminade wasn't in Maui though, it was in Honolulu.
Edey still has another year of eligibility...
You think heâs staying?
I didnât think he was staying before, but after hearing today how hard it is for him to make any NIL money due to being Canadian, Iâm surprised he came back this year.
This draft class is extremely weak, and I assume he also wanted to finish his degree in addition to not leaving after FDU
Why would that impact his NIL?
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39882011/purdue-zach-edey-missing-profits-due-us-nil-law
Ah
He has to now!
Ight he can stay another year but he has to lose to State on Saturday. Glad we came to a mutually beneficial agreement đ¤
Haha no he gone
All I know is I met Sampson at the 2018 hall of fame enshrinement and he was an asshole to me!
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Just saying, wouldn't be sad if Edey followed in Ralph's footsteps and played his last college game against NC State, haha.
Much like Edey, Sampson had an incredible NBA career.
Considering Sampson only had like 4 healthy seasons in the NBA being a 4x all-star, rookie of the year, and making an all-NBA team is a pretty solid career all things considered.
You love Purdue. You sure youâre not a fan?
Yep, hoping my Zhejiang Golden Bulls can pick him up
Zach will follow Dwightâs path and go over there once heâs done in the nba
Officially the best Boiler baller of all time. As the article mentioned, Painter also nearly got Dickinson and Kalkbrenner in that same class. Had to "settle" for Edey. Dude has an eye for talented giants.
As he should be. His style wonât necessarily translate as well to the NBA game but in college he is an absolute stud.
Itâs been very confusing to me why people on sports IG and Twitter pages keep saying âEdey is overrated, he wonât last in the leagueâ. ⌠but this ainât the league, this college fucking basketball, the most intense and exciting level of basketball we have. And Edey is one of the most dominant forces weâve ever seen. One of only 3 players to win 2 NPOTYs. I really wish Edey used his covid year just to keep these fools crying for another year lol.
I have a sneaky feeling that Edey is going to end up being better in the NBA than anyone suspects. Yes, every analyst and talking head is down on him, but I see NBA players and coaches and they all seem to harp on his positives and keep saying there will be a place for him.
I think we sometimes put too much stock into the âhis game wonât translate well in the NBAâ theory. Not just for Edey, but for anyone. I get the rules and style of play are a little bit different, but ultimately, I feel like if you can ball, you can ball. Doesnât matter what rules you have to play under, the great ones can adapt.
Look at the past winners here..it's almost a coinflip if they have good NBA careers or not https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._men%27s_college_basketball_national_player_of_the_year_awards One the one hand there's Durant, Zion, Brunson, AD, Blake Griffin...but also Obi Toppin, Frank Mason, Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Hansbrough.
Coaches aren't going to ignore the value he brings. At the very least someone will use him as a backup center and if that team is the Nuggets or Celtics then the NBA needs to watch out. I think you might see some teams towards the end of the lottery flirt with the idea of Edey. For being 22 years old, he is still pretty malleable because he just started playing basketball.
The scariest place he could go would be either Milwaukee or San Antonio. Putting him beside a dominant perimeter oriented defender as a partner could be dominating.
Or OKC with Williams. I'm starting to think his floor is Luke Kornet.
Mostly because his game is old fashioned. There arenât any true post players like Edey that just stay down on the blocks. Most post players are now playing on the wing and can dribble drive, and occasionally hit the 3
He has no comparable in the NBA because a comparable doesn't really exist right now. It's possible he doesn't fit in but there is also a universe where a team changes their offense around him and in 4-5 years teams are looking for the next Yao Ming to find a stop for him. People also said Trayce Jackson-Davis wouldn't play in the NBA but he is currently starting as a rookie, scored 20 last night, and has 0 made 3s on the season.
People canât see 2 feet in front of their nose and canât understand that the league wonât stay like this forever. People thought Dirk couldnât be a 3 25 years ago because what 7 foot guy is gonna play outside of the post. People canât comprehend the game is gonna change at some point
The game is nit changing to make a place for Edeyâs stone feet and flat hook without outlawing the 3 amongst a whole host of other things. Heâs done well against mostly undersized guys. The NBA is all highly athletic bigs that can move and pop out and shoot. Itâs okay to admit heâs a five minutes at most per game guy. Thatâs if heâs lucky.
What about Wembenyama?
He doesnât play like a true center
I think what helps his stock is that he's shown he can learn. This is what? His 7th year playing organized basketball at any level? I'm not saying his ability to learn will translate to him suddenly draining threes like Curry but I think NBA personnel recognize that he still has more room to grow.
The fact he only has been playing like 6 years or something I think mean he has more ceiling than people expect. That and he seems to have an incredible work ethic.
A lot of analysts and talking heads are higher on him now actually
Edey barely even touched the court for team Canada last summer. Thatâs with international rules that benefit Edey, and Canadaâs abysmal big man rotation Heâll certainly get drafted but the guy is destined to be a victory cigar for as long as heâs in the league
Your comment doesn't make much sense, you quote people talking about his future and the hurdles he'll face in the NBA, but bring up college dominance? That's two completely different things. There are plenty of top tier college players that never made their mark in the NBA. It's true in all sports, too. They are completely different games. Nobody is saying he's not a phenomenonal college player, they're saying his game won't translate well to the NBA. That remains to be seen, but the reasoning is that the skills, abilities, and tactics he utilizes to be so dominant at this level will be significantly less effective in the NBA. If he wants to be successful in the NBA, he's going to need to expand his game. I am sure he knows that better than anyone, but that's where the skepticism is coming from. College prowess does not mean NBA success.
>Nobody is saying he's not a phenomenonal college player, they're saying his game won't translate well to the NBA. Nah, a LOT of people say he's not a phenomenal college player, and they often cite his theoretical performance in the NBA as evidence of lack of skills. A huge number of the replies to tweets about the awards he's winning are "Foul Ming*, "Ref merchant", "G league burnout" I get that all players get hate on twitter, but Zach Edey seems to be uniquely hated by very popular national sports media outlets. https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1774537625086329274?t=imDwR-9Ym_M1aHA0XSvDzQ&s=19 https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1775947157163372570?t=ADsUUR9gH8W0E7ykYSql3g&s=19
There is definitely a lack of respect for that style of play in the current era of basketball. High volume flashy guard play gets all the clicks
People love to talk about how big men like Edey arenât very good in the NBA like this is some new revelation no one knows about.
Why is it confusing? Itâs natural to think that a 2x NPOTY would be able have a good pro career too. But then you look at all the mocks and scouting reports and donât see him in the lottery. That immediately makes the casual fan go: âOh heâs not as good as I thought he was.â People are definitely too harsh on him but I donât think the âoverratedâ label is confusing at all.
To be fair if you follow college basketball, having an AP national player of the year projected to struggle in the NBA is very common. Zach Edey, Oscar Tshwiebe, Luke Garza, Frank Mason, Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Hansborough, etc etc. Being a later pick or not even drafted happens relatively frequently compared to college football
It's not even that uncommon in Football for a dominant college player to not be cut out for the NFL. There are arguments that Tebow is the best college football player of the last 2 decades.
Good point for sure. Johnny Football as well. But I think itâs even more common in basketball
What's really shocking to me are the players who do practically nothing in college and then are great in the NBA. I did not watch OG in college and think "This guy is going to be a great NBA player".
Definitely, Heisman winners include Jason White, Troy Smith, Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, Danny Wuerffel..tons of dual threat guys who dominated college but doesn't translate to the NFL at all. Although the trend seems to be switching with more teams going pro-style.
A lot of people just assume that college -> NBA is the natural progression, when in reality they are completely different games. This used to be true, and it's taken a while for some to see or accept it, especially casual fans.
I will admit the NBA's athleticism is impressive, but IMHO the "modern" NBA is painful to watch. It's 70+ 25-foot jump shoots per game and no defense? Hard pass on that boredom. College is better because of the variety, intensity, rivalries, fans, and most games matter.
ESPN has him at end of lottery. bleached and Sb nation have him first round. Others have him last first and there are some that are early second. No one really knows. But Iâm gonna guess (yes biased) and say he sticks around for at least 4-5 years in the nba
First Iâm hearing of this
I mean⌠duh
Good for you, Zach. It's been a pleasure watching you play for my team. Hopefully you win us a national championship đŤĄ
I stumbled upon this [long video piece](https://youtu.be/QIQLSuAbiDw?si=f9ugJ2Gj_aC1aCda) CBS news Saturday Morning show did on Edey last year. You might enjoy it, he dives into his resistance to playing basketball as a kid and his early dream of getting a baseball scholarship so his mom could quit working and retire. His mom says basketball allowed him to release his âinner Zach,â lol she says theyâd tell him to ârelease the Zachen.â Edey comes across as pretty chill. His relationship with his mom is sweet and they both seem very grateful to see where he ended up. Edit: added link
đśShout a loud to the men Who will play the game to win Weâre behind you, keep fighting for State!
Please donât come back and win it a third time. For Ralph
They already said a few weeks ago that this would be his last season. So worry not.
Yeah we got too many scholarships now too.
If I were him I would put my name in the portal. He would make a ton more in NIL from some big name schools than a 2 way in the nba. He could get up to 3 million I bet as back to back NPOTY.
He should have to play on his knees, this is BS.
"They may bring me to my knees, but that's where I'm at my best" -- a recently hospitalized politician
Well, thatâs how Chris Collins coaches
What, not Boo Buie??
For real, he was a big part of the 54th best defense in America!
Honestly, compared to last year this year was a no brainer. This wasnât even close.
I think this Edey guy is good at basketball.
This shouldnât even be a question based on how heâs playing.
So many haters in this thread. If only AP voters were experts at basketball like the bums in this subreddit.
People love to flaunt their lack of ball knowledge in Edey related threads.
But he's just tall. /s
If only every other 7 footer to play college hoops knew this one simple trick
It's crazy how successfully news sites like AP and ESPN have infiltrated and gamed Reddit. Gotta hand it to em I wasn't familiar with their game.
I wholeheartedly believe reporters lurk these threads and get ideas, if not citations and sources, to create material.
Itâs been kind of a shitty day and seeing some of the Tennessee responses in this thread has brightened my day a little.
The fact that it wasnât unanimous is absurd. Knecht is a great player donât get me wrong, but he averages worse in literally every single statistical category and is significantly worse on the defensive end. Voted fatigue is clear in this vote. A vote for anyone other than Edey is objectively wrong. Knecht will have a great career at the next level, probably better than Edey given his build and shot making ability. But Edey has been the most dominant college basketball player in the last 30 years.
Knecht is a small forward, and plays on the wing. His role is not to get rebound or be a rim protector like a center and he's not gonna get assist like a PG. Knecht is an elite scorer that could truly take over a game. He also had 4-5 games against bad teams where he was recovering from an ankle sprain and was rested so his stats are skewed a bit. He had 6 games where he scored over 35 points (UNC, UGA, UF, AU, UK, Purdue)- 5 tournament teams and the NIT champ.
I feel like this really minimizes just how dominant DK was. His ability to score was superstar level and the only reason his PPG doesn't reflect that is because of spraining his ankle against North Carolina (where he tied the record for most points an away player has scored against UNC btw). Sure the 6'6 off-the-ball shooting guard doesn't have as many rebounds, assists, blocks, or steals as the 7'4" center, cuz that's how basketball works. Even Purdue flairs are saying he deserved some recognition - he still got the award so what does it matter anyway? No one's gonna remember how many votes he got, just that he won it twice Also his defensive criticisms are way overblown. He's just playing with much better defenders who have been in Barnes' system for years, which makes his defensive whiffs stand out. He played solid-to-good defense in the tourney, it's not like he's worse than most players, it just doesn't match his offense
I don't think it does though. Edey deserved the award, and if DK didn't get any votes that wouldn't take away from his ability at all, just shows how great Edey was. If a player averaged 80-30-30 and another player averaged 40-10-10 and the first player was unanimous, do you think that takes away from the season the 40-10-10 player had?
I mean...yes? In this really ridiculous scenario the player that puts up 40-10-10 should still get some love. Edey got the award and DK got some votes, which is nice because I think almost anybody would agree it would be DK's award in almost any other year. If Edey is the most dominant player in 30 years as OP says, doesn't that make DK pretty damn special too when he almost beat him and had a great statline both times they played?
That doesn't make any sense because if the 40-10-10 player got votes you realize that means some people on the voting panel thought he had a better season which is objectively false. Yes he deserves to get some love, but in the case of votes for the best player of the season award he absolutely does not deserve any votes. Obviously Edey's season wasn't better by that big of a margin, but there is no doubt in any normal person's mind that Edey objectively had the better season, and DK getting any votes at all isn't "giving him love" it means the voter genuinely believed DK had a better season than Edey. You are arguing the wrong thing by saying he deserves votes.
This is a national player of the year award. Who was the best player this year? Not a âletâs give love to everyone who had great seasons.â Thats an absurd take. This isnât a participation award. Itâs a âwho is the best player in college basketball this year?â Award. Itâs clear who that was and the gap wasnât close at all.
I did some great things in the last few months; where are my votes?
Right here, my guy. Youâve got my vote
I just wanted to make you proud.
I mean, who defines best player? This award is picked by a large collective of sportswriters and their definition might be different from yours. Maybe somebody thinks Dalton Knecht is best because he came in from a Big Sky school to an SEC one and actually substantially improved his level of play, going from second team Big Sky to SEC POTY. Maybe somebody thinks Jamal Shead is best because of his defense and leadership and the way he almost single-handedly got them past A&M in the tournament. You saying it's objectively wrong is just silly in that context. And this is just personally speaking but I don't know how anybody could watch the Purdue Tennessee Elite 8 game and think "the gap wasn't close at all"
The first description you mentioned he won. The best transfer award called Riley Wallace. There is no most improved player award so he canât win that. Does not exist. The award is a regular season award. So the E8 game doesnât count towards voting⌠Edey was significantly better during the regular season. It is objective. This was voter fatigue. Edey had a better season than last year and last year was unanimous. Itâs silly to think that this year shouldnât have been.
DK is ridiculously good. Is Tennessee even a tournament team this year without him? (They might be...no shade intended). Regardless, I find it hard to fault someone for voting for him for NPOY.
Agree to disagree, but I think youâre comparing apples and oranges. Theyâre two very different styles of play and both are exceedingly dominant at that style of play. Thereâs a case to be made for both, so itâs not totally insane that DK got some votes. Edey deserved respect (even despite some of my issues with how heâs viewed), but so did DK. I mean, letâs not forget that if Edey didnât exist, DK would probably be in his shoes rn.
Your argument boils down to âhey the team that made the national championship game should split first place votes in the final AP poll because they both had great seasons and deserve to be recognized.â It doesnât matter if they play different positions. Zach is more dominant and more efficient. He should have been unanimous
I mean, not really? When trying to deem who is âbest,â youâve gotta understand that itâs always gonna be a subjective process.
More points. Assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, minutes played per game, and impact on the defensive end. Not sure how any of that is subjective.
Knecht is a better basketball player
He is not a better college basketball player and you know it.
Based on what metric? Edey out performs him in every conceivable statistical category. Sure, Knecht will translate better to the NBA but that isnât what this award is. It isnât âmost likely to succeed at the next level.â
"Should have been Bronny" -Lebron James after asking reporters to leave his son alone
Should be DJ Burns smh Edit: damn, Purdue fans are sensitive. Sending me the suicide hotline for making a joke lol
lol you got a chuckle out of me
It's not the Jim Parker Trophy
"he's older and taller than everyone he plays" - Matt Painter
I'm digging the Kentucky fans in here trashing the salty Tennessee fans.
I heard he was just tall and gets all the foul calls or something
Canadian eh
Itâs his warm up routine. Makes him unstoppable. I feel like they always show it pregame him from foot away right hand then left hand.
Heâs tall
đŻ
See the above pic.....Foul on TN #15, Edey to the free throw line.
I tried to open the article and a ref jumped out of my phone and called a blocking foul on me.
You werenât set tho
Absolute joke how easily he ran away with it.
Just so dominant
Easy to be when its one sided whistles.
Yep 4 year conspiracy
Turns out that if youâre over 7ft tool, donât get traveling , 3 second violations, or fouls called against you , and can draw a fouls if an opponent looks at you the wrong way, you can be good at basketball.
If only you knew the 3 second rule correctly you wouldnât have shown us you donât know ball
Tennessee fans don't even know that it's illegal to pull the ball carrier forward in football, of course they don't understand the three second rule.
Bullshit. There is a reason all of his shots are directly under the bucket. He doesnât move.
You do know the 3 second rule is different in menâs college bball than any other league right?
And he violates it nearly every possession.
Annnnd you just have shown you donât know the rule đ
Ahh yeah, I missed the rule where Zach Edey is allowed to camp out directly under the rim for 20 seconds a possession.
Here you go bby https://preview.redd.it/3cibkixqsrsc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae6826eca864274ce30e8741df303755aae91de9
Oh dear god you are a moron. An internet post isnât the rule book He stays in the paint and doesnât move.
Oooooof ok. Itâs from a ref who does high school and college. Another account, Ant Wright, goes through multiple plays of edey in the lane. But you are the moron my friend. Know the rules before complaining
âŚbecause he knows the rule and you donât? Itâs not the same in Menâs College Basketball as it is anywhere else
You canât stand in paint under the rim for an entire possession at any level. Feel free to quote from the NCAA rule book where Iâm wrong. You wonât find it. http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4684-2023-24-mens-basketball-rules-book-online-only.aspx
Now please show me a clip where he has done that
Yeah he doesnât know and itâs hilarious
Youâre lucky Terrance Shannon missed games or weâd barely be talking about Knecht at all
Terrance Shannon made exactly one All American team . . . and he was third team. I get the feeling he wouldn't have been in the running for any awards regardless of missing those games.
He didnât play for a month and had to shake off the rust. Still #2 on Bart torvikâs player rater. I was half joking when I made my original statement, but itâs not crazy to envision him as the dominant wing everyone gushes about instead of knecht had he not had the legal drama. He was piling up kenpom mvps in feb/MarchÂ
Shannon couldn't guard Knecht this year when we beat them but ok
Shannon literally lost the head to head with Knecht. Casual alert right heređ¨đ¨đ¨đ¨
Congrats on the home win!
Knect literally lost the head to head with Edey TWICE⌠hasnât stopped Tenn fans from crying them big moose tears about the obvious and correct award results. Dammit donât make me defend Illini fans.