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Running 2023-24 NCAA Basketball Thread

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Kansas, Michigan State, and Duke being the face of college basketball just got soooo monotonous. This tournament has been a breath of fresh air.

Well, there's a school from North Carolina in it. But it's wearing ... red?

OK by me.
 
Nice to see Edey playing the every coach overlooked me card.

Dude you're 7-4. If you any semblance of talent as a high school, more than Purdue, Baylor and Western Kentucky would have offered.

You were at IMG Academy, not hiding under a rock.

According to stats put out by IMG, as a senior you averaged three rebounds per game.
For all the crap Purdue coaching has gotten over the last few years, they turned this kid into a stud.

He plays a great back-to-the-basket post with a solid base and good fundamental moves. He moves his arms to draw contact and fouls. He rebounds great and tips what he cannot grab.

I don't know what IMG was doing, but Purdue turned him into a stud.
 
Choosing between Purdue and Baylor out of high school doesn't quite feel like an "all the haters doubted me" origin story.
 
For all the crap Purdue coaching has gotten over the last few years, they turned this kid into a stud.

He plays a great back-to-the-basket post with a solid base and good fundamental moves. He moves his arms to draw contact and fouls. He rebounds great and tips what he cannot grab.

I don't know what IMG was doing, but Purdue turned him into a stud.
Per his bio, he didn't start playing basketball until his sophomore year of high school, and he transferred to IMG around his junior year, I think. He turns 22 in May as well, so he's developed pretty well in a short period of time. I'm kind of pessimistic of his prospects in the NBA, but I'm really looking forward to 5 years of comparisons like "why can't he be Jokic?!?!" from old dudes on the Internet.
 
He has a place in the NBA, and it can be as an All Star, if the team that drafts him understands what he does very well - play traditional center.

If he's 15-20 feet from the basket, he will bust.

But planted on the low-block? He would thrive. You just need teammates who compliment a player cemented on the low block.
 
One thing about the NBA Draft is how often a pick in the 20s does virtually nothing in the league. If Edey is drafted in that zone and ultimately a rotational player for a few years, then that's a great development out of that slot in the draft.
 
He has a place in the NBA, and it can be as an All Star, if the team that drafts him understands what he does very well - play traditional center.

If he's 15-20 feet from the basket, he will bust.

But planted on the low-block? He would thrive. You just need teammates who compliment a player cemented on the low block.
I think there is almost zero chance that he can hang defensively with the good NBA 5s, or switch well on the pick and roll. That kind of player can still get paid and be useful in certain match-ups, but typically gets played off the floor in the playoffs.
 
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