After Canada’s Zach Edey dropped a career-high 40 points on Sunday to lead the Purdue Boilermakers to their first Final Four in more than 40 years, there are probably a number of coaches regretting their decision not to seriously recruit the big man.
A three-star recruit coming out of high school, Edey said that “there were so many coaches” that looked over him.
“Name a program, I can name a coach that looked over me,” Edey said after the Boilermakers’ 72-66 Elite Eight win over the Tennessee Volunteers.
One of those coaches, according to Edey, was the man he just sent packing on Sunday.
“At Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach, but he was in a bunch of our practices, looked over me,” Edey explained with a Final Four hat on his head and a freshly cut net around his neck. “It’s kind of been the story of my life, people have doubted me, people looked past me. Can’t do that anymore.”
Edey’s 40-point, 16-rebound day was his fourth straight double-double in the tournament, and helped him repay Purdue head coach Matt Painter for showing faith in the seven-foot-four centre from Toronto.
With their trip to the Final Four booked, both Edey and Painter get a much-needed palate cleanser after they were victim to one of the most shocking upsets in NCAA history last year — a loss to No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson in the first round.
They will now look to become the second team to win an NCAA Championship after losing to a No. 16 seed.
And Edey, well, he’s confident about their chances.
“We’re (expletive) winners,” Edey told CBS Sports. “This what we do.”
Purdue will now take on the North Carolina St. Wolfpack in Glendale, Arizona on Saturday with a trip to the National Championship on the line.