2024 NBA Draft: Can Zach Edey Add A 3-Pointer?
Purdue’s star center Zach Edey has been dominating college basketball these last two seasons. In 2023 the 7-foot-4 center won the national player of the year award after averaging 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. In last year’s NCAA tournament, Purdue was on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in the history of March Madness as they became just the second one-seed to have ever lost to a 16-seed.
This season the Boilermakers look much better as they gained experience and more veteran leadership. As of today, Edey is again the favorite to win the national player of the year award as he’s averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks on 62% shooting from the field. This past Saturday the Boilermakers played against their in-state rivals, the Indiana Hoosiers.
Edey dropped 26 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 34 minutes played. The reigning national player of the year looked dominant as always but he had an offensive play happen that has scouts and NBA personnel very intrigued. Edey made his first ever 3-pointer in college as it was a pick and pop jumper from the middle of the court. This leads to an interesting discussion on if Edey is able to develop a jumper or if he should even look into developing a 3-point jumper.
Edey’s free-throw shooting is extremely good for a guy at his size as he’s currently shooting 71% from the free throw line and in three of his four college seasons he has shot over 70% from the line which indicates he has great touch for a center. On a lot of his hook or push shots inside the painted area he showcases a great and soft touch around the rim. Statistically and the eye test suggests Edey has a very good shooting touch.
Now that we have determined Edey’s touch to be quite good, let’s dive into his shot mechanics. The 7-foot-4 center doesn’t get much elevation on his jumper but he does get off the ground which is great considering his size. Edey tucks his elbow in when shooting and his guide hand doesn’t affect the rotation of the basketball. He has very good shot mechanics so you combine that with his very good touch then we could very well see Edey end up shooting 3-pointers when he gets to the professional level. Especially if he wants to add perimeter shooting to his game.
The big question now is should Edey develop a 3-point jumper? The vast majority of his points come from inside the painted area not including free throws and he has absolutely dominated college basketball without being much of a shooting threat. Adding a consistent mid-range and 3-point jumper could make him an even scarier offensive weapon that NBA teams will certainly struggle to defend. The negative of Edey developing a jumpshot is that it could take away from his interior scoring as he will likely be outside the paint a little more often than you would like.
Overall it’s just one 3-pointer and Edey will need time to develop a consistent jumper, but the potential is certainly there for him. He has recently started to draw comparisons to Milwaukee Bucks’ center Brook Lopez as they share similar traits on both ends of the floor. Edey is currently projected to be a first-round pick and there has been some chatter that he could end up as a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
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