ESPN reacts to Grizzlies 97-95 loss to Jazz in Summer League; Zach Edey produces double-double

ESPN reacts to Grizzlies 97-95 loss to Jazz in Summer League; Zach Edey produces double-double

can do this I kind of expect it now I think I I would be uncomfortable people weren’t weren’t doting me all the time um it’s just just kind of been part of it been part of my life uh in college I I couldn’t tell you why people keep doing it but they keep doing it and uh it keeps working out for me so now when the NBA is still working out for Zach edting cuz certainly looks like one game in summer league and The Grizzlies gave us this with Edy patrolling the glass getting boards forcing OT with put backs getting his own rebounds after getting blocked that good play speaking volumes and a big fella provided that wins and losses maybe not the most important thing because the griz’s did lose last night but Edy and his numbers last night we should not maybe be surprised because this is what he did at Purdue improved every year getting better each time he stepped out there on the court from averaging just eight points a game his freshman year to 25 by the time he was senior and left Purdue now Edy getting ready to do things with the Grizzlies that maybe might just be a continuation of that two-time college player of the [Music] year no one better to talk Grizzly basketball than with our very own Gary Parish because he’s a college basketball expert and also hosts his own show with grind City media and Gary I’m curious what were your biggest takeaways from Zack ‘s game last night getting that double double he looked comfortable you know you know and that’s been you know what the Skeptics have always been skeptical about that at this level against you know NBA athletes who you know are more athletic than him and can move better than him in theory that he would look uncomfortable and out of place and a little slow getting up and down the court and really none of those things were an issue last night you know 14 points 15 rebounds four blocks and I think the most impressive thing is that he thoroughly outplayed Walker Kessler and Walker Kessler is a legitimate NBA Center nobody debates that he’s still very young but Walker Kessler has already carved out a role for himself in the NBA and so in Zack Ed’s debut with the Grizzlies the two-time national Player of the Year showed himself capable of of of standing eye to eye and going toe to- Toe with a legitimate NBA Center and to see that so early in his professional career again it’s really encouraging that um you know the Grizzlies took a risk by spitting a top 10 pick on this guy uh not a lot of people thought it was a brilliant move but you know after last night clearly some some folks are starting to come around to to the idea behind it yeah as we showed that tip in that Force overtime with Ed last night and I remember as you kind of referenced draft night maybe the uncertainty of if this is a good pick by the grizz’s or not um on social media John Morant hopped out there we saw he was excited but as a whole can you maybe remove yourself from the college basketball Gary parish and we put on the hat of the Memphis Grizzlies Gary Parish what do you think is the feel amongst the fans amongst the just the city and what they think that Ed needs to show to truly show excitement well I think the initial reaction if I’m being honest was a bit of confusion if only because most fans don’t work in front offices uh you know they work in their own offices or wherever they work and they look at CBS sports.com and other websites and peruse mock drafts for months and months and months and almost no mock drafts had Zach going into the top 10 so when enter a draft as a fan base with a lot of reporting suggesting your favorite franchise is interested in moving up to grab yukon’s Donovan kingan and instead they stand Pat and go much higher than most people projected for Zack Edy again the initial reaction was confusing confusion but you you start to really dive into it at that point okay what’s done is done can this work and the first thing you’ve got to recognize as that you know johnar jiren Jackson Jr Desmond Bane have been successful playing with big more traditional than not siners Stephen Adams most recently before that yonas valent chunis the Grizzlies in two of the past three years before this pass season was you know ravaged by johnar suspension first and then various injuries up and down the roster it’s a franchise that in the previous two years finished second in the Western Conference standings they think they’re ready to compete right now and Zack EDI as a four-year college player two-time National player the year you know whatever he’s going to be um he he’s closer to it than say a 19 or 20 year old old um so you you take the big bodied Center um you fill a position of need cuz they were going to have to address that either in free agency or the draft and then you you’ll trust that okay sure he might find himself in difficult defensive situations every once in a while particularly in the playoffs but he’s also going to be in a front court with former Defensive Player of the Year jiren Jackson Jr and oh by the way when your guards are jiren uh when your guards are John Morant and Desmond Bane that’s a little different respectfully to the college guards he was playing with that Purdue and again the early signs are are encouraging so I want to be clear everything I say and write is documented it’s impossible for me to lie about these things I can’t come on here today and say absolutely I thought the Grizzlies got a home run and this was the smartest thing the franchise has ever done it’s not what I would have done with the ninth pick had I been in charge on that night but I understood the logic behind it and now I’ll be rooting like crazy for them to be right and me to be wrong Zach Ed 22 years old you mentioned maybe not having the age behind him like the 19 or 20 year olds I want to talk about someone who’s 17 years old and is making a name for himself very quickly Cooper flag for those maybe if you weren’t familiar with this game playing with the USA team select against Team USA hooping against the best out there what are we learning about Cooper flag and how much excitement does this maybe bring towards college basketball for next year I don’t know if we’re learning anything but we’re certainly being reminded that the hype appears to be real this is a young man who is still only 17 years old will not turn 18 until December and yet is widely regarded as the you know best amateur basketball player in the world he would be the number one pick in next year’s draft if we held it tonight honestly if we would allowed him to be in the 2024 NBA draft a few weeks ago he would have probably been the number one pick in that one but still you never know what it’s going to look like a 17-year-old against grown men until you see a 17-year-old against grown men in and yesterday in Las Vegas against quite literally the best players in the world he looked comfortable he looked the part um he was knocking down shots from the perimeter he was getting to the rim and dunking um it really gives a a lot of uh you know validity to the idea that this young man is not only going to be you know the most high-profile freshman in the country and arguably the most high-profile player in the country and the projected favorite to be the number one pick in the next draft he’s got a real shot to be the best college basketball player in the country this season as well despite being way younger than most people need to be before they can ever approach those types of of labels to be clear he was on the court yesterday not just playing against some of the best players in the world but playing with other NBA players guys who have already performed in that league and proven stuff and there are people walking out of that gym in Las Vegas telling you that you know Cooper flag at the very least was the best player on his team if you’re John Shire or a Duke fan you got to be be thrilled with what you’re hearing coming out of the desert yeah it will be fun for the college basketball fans to be able to see someone who projects to be a star get the star in college for months and months to come Gary Paris thank you so much for the time we appreciate it and we talked about Team USA and this is what their schedule looks like for when the Olympics begin Group Play you get Serbia for game number one a date with Nicole yic on July 28th and the other teams in the group South Sudan and Puerto Rico on July 31st and August third the Olympics right around the [Music] [Music] corner for [Music] desty to for we sh for to oh for ch

ESPN reacts to Grizzlies 97-95 loss to Jazz in Summer League; Zach Edey produces double-double