Draymond Green Praised UConn’s Defense for Making Zach Edey ‘Quit’ in NCAA Title Game

Kristen Wong | Apr 9, 2024

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The best player in men’s college basketball received a scathing critique from arguably the biggest instigator in the NBA during the NCAA championship game on Monday.

Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey, the back-to-back Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year, had a game-high 37 points and 10 rebounds in his team’s 75-60 title loss to the UConn Huskies.

Despite Edey’s efficient outing, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was left unimpressed by the Purdue big man and claimed the Huskies’ defense made Edey “quit” during the second half of the game.

Green wrote on Twitter, “Job Well Done 35! You did your job tonight. It was him that made Edey quit with about 19 mins to go in the 2nd half. There was a turnover and I saw Edey body language walking back. He was done. Now rewatch the game from that point on.”

Job Well Done 35! You did your job tonight. It was him that made Edey quit with about 19 mins to go in the 2nd half. There was a turnover and I saw Edey body language walking back. He was done. Now rewatch the game from that point on. #FreeGame

— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) April 9, 2024

Green complimented Huskies forward Samson Johnson in particular, who played just five minutes and later fouled out of the game.

College hoops fans may argue that UConn did a better job at defending against Purdue’s long-range shooting than they did against Edey, who notched his 30th double-double of the season. The Boilermakers entered Monday as the nation’s second-best 3-point shooting team but only scored 1-of-7 from behind the arc in their title loss.

Purdue ultimately came up short in their quest for their first-ever NCAA championship in what will likely be Edey’s final college game. UConn, on the other hand, made history with their second consecutive NCAA title and will be remembered as one of the greatest men’s college basketball teams of the past two decades.