Edey again named Player of Year
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The child who wanted Zach Edey’s autograph during his Purdue recruiting trip apparently saw something others missed.
Big Maple was destined to be a basketball star.
While many college coaches passed on the unpolished Canadian prospect as the basketball world became enamored with perimeter play and 3-point shooting, Purdue coach Matt Painter took a swing on his third center in the recruiting class and found a gem who led the Boilermakers to their first Final Four since 1980.
Friday, Edey collected his second Associated Press Player of the Year award, becoming the first back-to-back winner since Ralph Sampson won three in a row at Virginia from 1981-83. Edey received 57 of 62 votes from journalists who vote in the weekly AP Top 25. Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht received three votes and UH’s Jamal Shead got two.
Edey is the fifth player to win the award in consecutive seasons though Lew Alcindor also won the award twice in nonconsecutive seasons.
“I get to pay him (coach Matt Painter) back. There were so many coaches that
looked over me, like you could name a program — I could name a coach that looked over me,” Edey said. “Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach, but he was at our practice, looked over me. It’s kind of been the story of my life.”
USC’s James set to enter draft, portal
Bronny James will enter the NBA draft after one season at Southern California that was shortened by his recovery from cardiac arrest.
The 19-year-old son of LeBron James announced Friday on his Instagram account that he also plans to retain his college eligibility and will enter the transfer portal.
“I've had a year with
some ups and downs but all added to growth for me as a man, student and athlete,” James wrote.
James posted his decision hours before USC introduced Eric Musselman as its new coach. He comes from Arkansas and replaces Andy Enfield, who left Monday to become coach at SMU.
Musselman is scrambling to assemble a coaching staff and assess a roster that has also lost junior Kobe Johnson, who said Thursday that he’s committed to crosstown rival UCLA. USC star freshman Isaiah Collier attended Musselman’s news conference.
N.C. State coach honors ’83 team
North Carolina State coach Kevin Keatts’ shoes say everything about the Wolfpack's improbable Final Four run — literally.
Keatts was walking around State Farm Stadium ahead of the team’s practice Friday sporting custom illustration work on his Adidas shoes, which pay tribute to the Wolfpack’s first Final Four appearance since the “Cardiac Pack” title run under the late Jim Valvano in 1983.
The additions include the official Final Four logo near the heel on the right shoe, as well as the team’s recent mantra: “Why not us?” closer to the top. The most notable is the illustrations of nine ice cream cones on the other side of that right shoe's heel. It’s a nod to the team’s tradition of getting ice cream after road wins — or, in this case, becoming the first team to go 5-for-5 and win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament before winning four more games in the NCAAs to reach the sport’s biggest stage.
“We added the scoops,” Keatts told a group of reporters outside the locker room while proudly showing off the updates.
“Look at that: you’ve got every color, too. That’s what people don’t understand, is you've got the color for the nine schools” beaten in the current win streak.