Zach Edey is Gone, but Purdue is Still Here
By ZACH VOGT
ISL Contributor
The 2023-24 college basketball season saw Purdue reach heights they hadn’t achieved since Joe Barry Carroll took the Boilermakers to the Final Four in 1980. Purdue put together their greatest season in 44 years with a team centered around the back-to-back National Player of the Year, Zach Edey. Unfortunately for Purdue, Edey departed for the 2024 NBA Draft following the loss to UConn in the National Championship game, and what followed was a program surrounded with questions about where they would go from there:
•Can Purdue win without Edey?
•Can junior guard Braden Smith be the #1 option on a winning team?
•Can junior big Trey Kaufman-Renn hold down the paint without Edey?
•Can the crowded freshman class make an instant impact?
These were all extremely valid questions- questions that were without true answers until we were able to see the Boilers take the court for the 2024-25 campaign. Purdue returned their starting backcourt in Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, as well as their interior presence in Trey Kaufman-Renn. They also returned key bench pieces in Camden Heide, Myles Colvin and Caleb Furst. They brought in a very deep freshman class to pair with the returners including CJ Cox, Gicarri Harris, Raleigh Burgess, Daniel Jacobsen and Jack Benter. What resulted is a very intriguing mix of old and new to round out the 2024-25 rendition of Purdue basketball.
The calendar has struck December and Big Ten play has arrived. The Boilers are sitting 7-1, ranked 8th in the country and are fresh off their 4th consecutive MTE championship in San Diego after knocking off NC State and 23rd-ranked Ole Miss. Prior to that, Purdue dismantled 2nd-ranked Alabama in Mackey Arena thanks to a dominant surge from the Boilers in the final 10 minutes of the game. Their lone loss came in their first true road game of the season when they traveled to Milwaukee to face 15th-ranked Marquette when they fell victim to another 2nd half surge, only finding themselves on the wrong side of it this time. The Boilers have tacked on other wins against Yale, Northern Kentucky, Marshall, and Texas A&M-CC.
So, how about those off-season questions that not only Purdue fans, but college basketball fans across the country were curious to see play out for this year’s Purdue squad?
Well, Braden Smith was named preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and has looked every bit the part thus far. He is averaging 12.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 9.1 APG through eight games so far. He went through a mini shooting slump for a week or two, but snapped out of it with an 18-point, 11-assist performance while shooting 6-11 against Ole Miss. He has controlled every game whether he is scoring or not and has continued to make everybody around him better.
Trey Kaufman-Renn has been nothing short of spectacular so far through eight games. Purdue head coach Matt Painter talked all summer about how TKR was going to be a guy they would lean on to make a big jump in production, and he has delivered. He is averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds while manning the middle, and has taken over multiple games. He has three 20+ point performances coming against Alabama, NC State and Ole Miss. He has developed into a serious All-Big Ten guy, and potentially a dark horse for Player of the Year.
Purdue also has a very talented freshman class that has certainly made an immediate impact. Gicarri Harris found himself in the starting lineup until just recently. CJ Cox has been a defensive pest for opponents off the bench while also exploding for nine points on three 3’s in a 60-second time frame against Alabama to completely change the course of the game. Raleigh Burgess has had limited time but he has been effective during his minutes. Daniel Jacobsen was the promising big man that found himself in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season before suffering a season ending leg injury in game two against Northern Kentucky.
As for the “Can Purdue win without Edey?” question, they have stacked two top-25 wins already, including a top-5 win on their home floor. They have brought home another MTE championship. They are the overwhelming favorites to win the Big Ten again, and they are currently the 8th-ranked team in the entire country. Zach Edey took Purdue to new heights, but they are not nothing without him.
These Boilers are real. Matt Painter is building a basketball empire in West Lafayette.
Everything prior to today has led Purdue here, staring down their third-consecutive Big Ten regular season championship. They will start their quest for another championship Thursday night at Penn State, a place where Purdue usually looks to just make it out alive. They will return home on Sunday for their conference home opener against Maryland.
We’re back in the thick of things. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Purdue is still here.
