Was Zach Edey redshirted? Exploring the Purdue center's college career

It has been over three years since the famed "Big Man U" landed one of the literal biggest college hoops players ever. Purdue star center Zach Edey could've gone to the NBA, but he withdrew his name from the list and opted to go back to West Lafayette to help lead his team once more.

And now, the 2023 defending national player of the year remains among the most dominant athletes to ever step on an NCAA hardwood.

But this article goes back to Zach Edey's earliest days at Purdue--when he was still a fresh-faced, almost impossibly tall kid who shifted to basketball from baseball due to his height. And one could be a bit surprised at how Edey's start with the Boilermakers is far from the dominating force he is now.

Was Zach Edey redshirted?

No, he wasn't. But there were multiple chances that recruiters and members of the Purdue coaching staff thought he should've when he first started with the team.

An article published in The Ringer last year chronicled his beginnings at Purdue. Coming out of high school and fresh off his stint at IMG Academy, Zach Edey was not a highly recruited prospect. He was only ranked 436th by 247Sports as a youngster.

Aside from that, Edey also reportedly first came to campus overweight, which made assistant coach Marvin Brantley think once more about redshirting him.

There were clear growing pains with the big man when he started with the team, which made folks think of a potential redshirt for Edey to let him develop. But clearly, the young prospect showed an eagerness to learn and improve.

In the 2020-21 season, Edey played in 28 games but only started two. In 14.7 minutes of average time spent on the court, he put up 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

Zach Edey wasn't good early on at Purdue

Edey's teammate Mason Gillis was among those who first saw the gigantic freshman center early on, and here's how he described Edey's skillset and abilities in February 2023 (via Indy Star):

"He couldn't catch the ball. He just could not catch the ball, no matter how I passed it to him. Lob it in the air, fire it at his forehead, he just couldn't catch the ball. I wouldn't say he sucked; he just wasn't very good at the time."

But since then, the 7-foot-4 center has worked himself up to the player he is now. During his first two years at Purdue, he shared the load with fellow center Trevion Williams. But by his third season, he had improved so much that he won national player of the year. He is even poised to win it again this season.

To say that Edey's improvement was tenfold is a highly massive understatement. Instead of redshirting, the big man worked through it the hard way and found success at the end of it.