Canada's Zach Edey and Aaliyah Edwards making statement on national stage

It’s not often that two Canadians are in the Final Four of the NCAA March Madness tournament. And it’s even more rare that they are the offensive hubs for two of the best teams in the country.

But that’s exactly where we stand with Purdue’s Zach Edey and Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards, who hail from Toronto and Kingston, respectively, and head into the championship weekend representing much more than their college teams. 

“It's great to be a part of,” Edwards told Sportsnet.ca on a recent Zoom call about being in the Final Four alongside Edey. “Obviously, he's been dominant for the men's side and even before we were up on the come up, he was getting a lot of attention. But to kind of have that nice balance on the woman side as well and me being able to represent that and to kind of have a platform to display that, it's been amazing.

“Anything I can do to kind of give back to my community back in Canada, I will… (and) to kind of have two Canadians on both sides of the floor, it's cool.”

Edey and Edwards represent the future of Canadian hoops. After early exits from last year’s tournament, the 21-year-olds used the summer to improve with the help of Canada Basketball and have led Purdue and UConn on remarkable runs to the Final Four while boosting their draft stock in the process. In fact, Edey and Edwards are projected to go in the first round of this summer’s NBA and WNBA drafts. 

And that’s not where the similarities end, either. Edey and Edwards are also big pieces of the Canadian senior teams, with both being scouted by Canada Basketball as teenagers, making their way up the junior team ranks, and filling holes at a centre position that has historically been a weakness for Canada. The two of them owe a lot of their development to the national program and will be looking to represent their country at the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games.

With the women’s Final Four set to take place in Cleveland on Friday, and the men taking centre stage in Phoenix on Saturday, it’s worth exploring: how did these two Canadian kids become household names? How did Edey go from an unknown high school player to the best player in college for two years running? How is Edwards projected to get drafted higher than any Canadian since 2002? And what does it mean for the future of Canadian hoops and the national programs? 

From Kingston to the Final Four

Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers and Nika Mühl came to UConn together as members of an exciting freshmen class in 2020, but it has been a rocky road ever since. First, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the tournament in their freshmen season. Then, the Huskies advanced to the championship game in 2022 only to get beat by the South Carolina Gamecocks and fellow Canadian Laeticia Amihere. And finally, an ACL injury forced Bueckers into a medical redshirt season last year, culminating in an injured Huskies team getting eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen. 

This season hasn’t been much easier, with first-year centre Jana El Alfy, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2021, Azzi Fudd and key reserves Aubrey Griffin and Caroline Ducharme all being shut down with injuries. The Huskies only have eight healthy bodies in March Madness, playing just six players most nights. 

But with a healthy Bueckers leading the way and Edwards averaging 17.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, two assists and 2.6 STOCKS a game, the Huskies went 29-5 this season, with both stars being named First-Team WBCA All-Americans.

Edwards has rounded out her game into a confident and versatile player who can do a little bit of everything on both sides of the floor, earning the trust of head coach Geno Auriemma, who runs the offence through her on the elbows and in the post. It culminated in a 24-point, six-rebound performance against USC in the Elite Eight, including a team-high 17 points in the second half. Now, Edwards and the Huskies have their eyes set on the team’s first championship since 2016. 

“(It’s been) so rewarding, especially (since) it’s my senior year, I want to go out with what I first committed to UConn to do and that is to win a Natty and to bring the 12th banner back to Storrs,” Edwards said. “And also to do that alongside my teammates and especially, Nika and Paige, the ones that I came in with, I feel like it's gonna be even more special.”

Regardless of what happens against Caitlin Clark’s Iowa in the Final Four on Friday, the six-foot-three senior has already declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft, where ESPN projects her to be selected No. 5 overall by the Dallas Wings. However, she could go as high as No. 4 to the Las Angeles Sparks, where Edwards would have the chance to play with Canadian teammate and UConn alumnus, Kia Nurse. 

“I've always dreamed of playing pro and playing in the WNBA,” Edwards said. “And to have my name among those lists and those rankings of projected top five, it's crazy. Like, if you were to ask me when I was like 10 years old, I'd be like: 'no way.'"

In addition to giving credit to coach Auriemma and her teammates, Edwards is grateful for the help of Canada Basketball veterans like  Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Natalie Achonwa, who have served as mentors to Edwards since she first played on the senior team at age 16. “Having them take me under their wing and kind of show me the ropes when I'm with the national team has really helped me translate that leadership onto the UConn team,” Edwards told the media in December when UConn visited Toronto for a game against TMU.

“So, I think that with them three kind of being my big sisters and really helping me navigate the pro level of ball, really helped me bring that back to college as well.”

Now, Edwards has the responsibility to carry it forward for the next generation of Canadians as women’s basketball continues to explode across the country — to inspire players like Crestwood Prep’s Toby Fournier and Agot Makeer who look up to Edwards and have tried to follow in her path. 

“I will say I’m blessed because even though I'm here to play basketball, I also take a role of being a role model for the next generation and those who come under me,” Edwards said in December. “I think that the platform that I have, I'm able to advocate for women's basketball. So, I'm grateful to be in that position. And I could help push the word out to watch women win and to have supporters and fans really tap into women's basketball.”

Zach Edey’s big bet

Following a historic junior season in 2022-23, Edey had to choose between declaring for the NBA draft and returning to Purdue for a fourth season. The consensus college Player of the Year had done everything in his power to lead Purdue to a 29-6 record and a No. 1 seed in the March Madness tournament. But after becoming just the second top seed in history to get upset by a No. 16 seed in the first round of the tournament, questions persisted about how the 7-foot-4 big man would respond in pressure-filled moments, and how his skill set would translate to the NBA.

Instead of declaring for the draft, where he would have likely been selected in the second round, Edey bet on himself by returning to Purdue despite the financial risks that came with it. And the bet paid off, with Edey averaging an NCAA-best 25 points, 12.2 rebounds, two assists and two blocks a game as he led the Boilermakers to a 33-4 record and No. 1 overall seed in March Madness, Edey is averaging 30 points and 16 rebounds in the tournament, including a 40 point, 16 rebound performance against Tennessee in the Elite Eight.

“It's amazing. Like, I get to pay (head coach Matt Painter) back,” Edey told reporters after helping Purdue reach its first Final Four since 1980. “There were so many coaches that looked over me. Like, you can name a program, I can name a coach that looked over me. The Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach but he was in a bunch of our practices (at IMG Academy), looked over me. 

"Like, it's kind of been the story of my life, people doubted me, people looked past me. Can't do that anymore.”

Edey has already achieved everything that he returned to Purdue for and more, leading sports talk shows and garnering the attention of basketball fans worldwide, including LeBron James, who said: “You’re gonna watch Purdue because of Zach Edey, because he’s a great player.” 

Edey is now projected to go in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. As a result, he will make a lot more money and have a lot more security than he would have had he declared a year earlier. And like Edwards, Edey maintains that a lot of his growth is due to his experiences with Team Canada, including last summer when he became the youngest Canadian to medal at a World Cup when the Canadians beat Team USA to win bronze. 

“I think it helps me every year,” Edey told the media when Purdue was in Toronto in December. “I think you can kinda see the jumps I've made every summer — Team Canada is a big part of that. Like, I've done that every year since my freshman year. It's really helped out kinda just playing in the summers and with the Olympic team, playing really grown men: they're fast, they're physical, they've played the game forever. Trying to learn off them, watch how they kinda do things, it really helps.”

Edey will have a chance to boost his draft stock and name recognition even further on Saturday night when he matches up against Cinderella No. 11 seed NC State and its six-foot-nine, 275-pound big man DJ Burns, who is sure to be his biggest test yet. 

It wouldn't be the first test Edey passed this season.