Some Quotes on Edey

KOC at the Ringer on draft winners: "And by the way, Verno will fall in love soon. So will all Grizzlies fans. Edey is going from Braden Smith to Ja Morant as his point guard. Morant will create easier shots for him than he’s ever had before. And he’s going to be supported on defense with some stout perimeter defenders and a former Defensive Player of the Year in Jaren Jackson Jr. There wasn’t a better fit for Edey in the entire draft than Memphis. I wasn’t sure it’d happen. The Grizzlies want to play fast. And they will. But it turns out they also want to be able to slow it down. And now with Edey, they will be able to play any way they want to, and both dictate matchups and respond to matchups in a playoff setting."

Jonathon Givony on the Lowe Post: One of the most remarkable things about Zach Edey is he never came off the floor for Purdue. He would play 40 minutes consecutively and it didn't even look like look like he's breaking a sweat. His conditiong for a 7'5 guy is absolutely unreal…You hear him as high as Memphis at 9…There's not a more ready guy to play right now…unbelievable level of physicality and intensity on every possession…outstanding offensive rebounder off the bat…he's going to get you to the bonus like that, he's a foul magnet…probably the best screener in this draft…imagine if Jonas Valanciunas was 7'5…you have to account for him. If you throw the ball in the general vicinity of the basket he's going to catch it, he's got incredible hands, an amazing finisher, and he's just going to put a hurting on people every time he's on the court. People are going to hate playing against him. He's a pain in the ass because he doesn't have an off switch. All he wants to do is smash you the entire game. He's talked about this in interviews, he says, "this is what I like doing guys, I like hitting people."…I was around Boban, I took a bus with him on the way to Montenegro, Edey is very different from Boban, he's in a different stratosphere than Boban Marjanovic.

An incredible read from last year that shows Edey's personality: Zach Edey Is Just Different – The Ringer : But Edey is focused on the present. Back at practice, he turns his gaze to the court, entering a state of stillness. He looks calm, stoic, borderline detached, even. He doesn’t hear anything. He tunes out in games this way, too; he doesn’t hear the crowd, the refs, the music. Pure silence. Internally, though, he’s the exact opposite. He’s burning; on the cusp of combustion. He doesn’t think; he only sees red. Only turns his attention toward dominating his next opponent. “I usually try to get myself angry,” Edey says. “I’ll just find some reason." He mostly thinks of how he’s perceived: He’s succeeding only because he’s tall. He’s scoring only because he’s big. He thinks of how little he was recruited out of IMG Academy, back when he was ranked no. 436 in his high school class, per 247Sports. He thinks of how many suggested he redshirt his first year at Purdue; they predicted he would never find his way. FUCK YOU. YOU’RE WRONG. I’LL SHOW YOU. Edey might literally be the biggest target in all of college hoops, and he receives an extraordinary amount of vitriol from opposing fan bases each game. He leans into it, though, using it as fuel during practice and games. His lock screen features lyrics from the Game and 50 Cent’s “Hate It or Love It.” He often thinks of how even the compliments he receives feel somewhat conditional. “I guess he’s athletic, for a 7-footer.” More red, more ammunition. More f-bombs. I’LL SHOW YOU AGAIN. I’LL KEEP SHOWING YOU HOW WRONG YOU ARE…His anger, though, is controlled. He doesn’t get emotional or step out of his team’s offense. He’s averaging only 1.7 fouls per game, a career low. He’s always been able to harness his fire to his advantage. And the competitive drive he has had since he was a child, back when he got irked when his hockey teammates didn’t touch the line during sprints, explodes into something beautiful. Unstoppable. He’s averaging 22.3 points and 12.8 rebounds on 61 percent shooting from the field. “I play better when I’m pissed off,” Edey says. Edey’s ability to find that dark place where he sees red comes from his childhood. Growing up, he struggled to fit in and feel comfortable in his own skin, given his size. He used to put on his headphones and look at his phone while walking because he knew the second he looked up, he’d see people staring at him and hear cruel comments.“As a teenager,” he says, “you’re already a little insecure. … For me, to almost know that a lot of people are just talking about me, especially when I walk by strangers, it was really, really hard on me.”