One program has had the unmitigated gall to topple the great giant Zach Edey two seasons in a row: Northwestern, which has upset No. 1-ranked Purdue back-to-back in Evanston.
The payback Wednesday in West Lafayette, Indiana, could be like something out of a Cormac McCarthy novel.
Just ask Indiana — which swept bitter rival Purdue last season — what an angry, extra-motivated Edey is like. As much as the Boilermakers have been fueled all season by a humiliating 2023 NCAA Tournament loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, they had an ever stronger taste for Hoosier blood. Two weeks ago in Bloomington, the score at the half was 51-29. It ended in IU’s worst-ever loss to Purdue at Assembly Hall, Edey having gone off mercilessly for 33 points and 14 rebounds.
Now, they’re hunting Wildcat. That unsettling sound you hear in the distance is the growling stomach of the 7-4, 300-pound Edey, who had 35 and 14 in an overtime loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Dec. 1.
“I coached against Tyler Hansbrough for four years, who was an absolute monster,” coach Chris Collins said. “I played against Tim Duncan, Rasheed Wallace, Joe Smith. I didn’t have a chance to go against [Shaquille O’Neal] as a player or coach, but I have never seen a more dominant player at the college level than Edey. I just never have.”
In his most recent game, Edey became the sixth Big Ten player to amass 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career, joining Michigan State’s Greg Kelser, Purdue’s Joe Barry Carroll, Ohio State’s Herb Williams, Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis. A fourth-year player, Edey got there despite coming off the bench as a freshman and platooning at center with All-Big Ten teammate Trevion Williams a sophomore. And he still has a whole bunch of games left in which to pile on.
The biggest upset of all would be if anyone stops Edey from becoming the first repeat consensus national player of the year on the men’s side since Ralph Sampson in 1983.
There is little argument — make that no argument — against Edey as the Big Ten’s greatest and most dominant player since fellow Boilermaker Glenn Robinson 30 years ago. As a junior in 1993-94, the “Big Dog” averaged 30.3 points and 10.1 rebounds before being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Robinson played only two seasons after having to sit out his freshman year, but no one could touch him.
No Big Ten player since comes close to pulling rank on Edey. But on that note, and for your bickering pleasure, here’s my list of the league’s next-best 10 players — after Edey at No. 1 — of the last 30 years:
2. Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State (1996-2000): The heart and soul of Tom Izzo’s best teams won one Big Ten player of the year award outright and shared another, and topped it all with a brilliant 2000 national championship performance on a bum ankle. Nobody went harder.
3. Evan Turner, Ohio State (2007-10): It doesn’t get more do-it-all than a national player of the year stat line of 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Nobody did the point-forward thing better.
4. Luka Garza, Iowa (2017-21): Need a bucket? Throw it to the two-time league player of the year and consensus first-team All-American and get out of his way. Garza scored on anybody and everybody and didn’t give a damn if he looked like a star or not doing it.
5. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2011-15): “Frank the Tank” led the Badgers to back-to-back Final Fours — the second one in a national player of the year season in which he topped the Badgers in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and three-point percentage.
6. Dee Brown, Illinois (2002-06): The Illini’s engine was a four-year starter who made life hell on the opposition at both ends, popping threes, pouncing on every loose ball and one-man-fast-breaking like he’d invented the maneuver. Can’t they go back and play the 2005 national final again?
7. Shawn Respert, Michigan State (1990-95): Goodness, was he smooth. Respert averaged 25.6 points — his third straight above 20 — the season after Robinson left the league.
8. Trey Burke, Michigan (2011-13): He was the best player in the country in his second and final season, mixing Turner-like big buckets and playmaking with Brown-level chaos in the passing lanes. Also like Brown, Burke ended up one win short of a natty.
9. Jackson-Davis, Indiana (2019-23): The team success was modest, but you have to respect what he did as the Hoosiers’ all-time leader in rebounds and blocks and their top scorer since Calbert Cheaney left in 1993.
10. Deron Williams, Illinois (2002-05): There are some, no doubt, who would rank Williams above Brown, and it’s a conversation worth having. With his passing alone — for two years, he blew away the rest of the league in assists — he was an all-timer.
11. Greg Oden, Ohio State (2006-07): Oh, stop your yelling. Yes, there are lots of names that could go here. Michigan State’s Draymond Green, who excelled in every imaginable role for some great teams, comes to mind. Future Bull Denzel Valentine, a fellow Spartan, had a remarkable individual ascent. Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger was a man among boys, as was Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn. Wisconsin’s Happ, mentioned earlier, was 100 times better than he looked.
But for his only season, the towering Oden was the closest thing to an Edey — and a whole lot like fellow one-and-done Anthony Davis — blowing minds with his ability and presence. He scored, rebounded, ran the floor, blocked absolutely everything and became a household name as the Buckeyes blew to the national final.
