Big Ten Roundup (Aug. 4): Dick Vitale Picks Zach Edey, Boo Buie as First Team All-Americans
No one was sure they'd ever see Zach Edey or Boo Buie play a college basketball game ever again following the 2022-23 season.
Both the 7-foot-4 reigning Naismith Player of the Year and the 6-foot-2 point guard that led Northwestern to its best season ever considered entering their names in the 2023 NBA Draft. But ultimately, both Edey and Buie returned to play one last season at Purdue and Northwestern under coaches Matt Painter and Chris Collins, respectively.
Edey and Buie will find their names atop many an award list entering the 2023-24 season, and according to legendary ESPN color commentator Dick Vitale, they're going to finish as two of the top five players in the country.
Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:
Edey and Buie Picked as First Team All-Americans
What Vitale says during college basketball games we all watch on TV is far from gospel, but on the whole, he's one of the most recognizable voices in the history of the sport.
It still matters when he picks two Big Ten players to finish as first team All-Americans in the preseason, even if he ends up being completely wrong.
Alongside Edey and Buie, Vitale also picked North Carolina's Armando Bacot, Auburn's Johni Broome and Marquette's Tyler Kolek to finish as 2023-24 first team All-Americans. Additionally, Dickie V also predicted Illinois's Terrence Shannon Jr. to finish as a second team All-American, and Michigan State's Tyson Walker to finish as a third team All-American.
Edey won every national player of the year award under the sun in 2022-23. Naismith, Wooden — you name it. He also led Purdue to a 29-6 season and outright Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles, and along the way he averaged 22.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game on hyper efficient shooting (63.9 True Shooting percentage).
Buie, meanwhile, was not nearly as efficient as Edey, but similarly meant the world to his team. Northwestern finished its season 22-12 and second place in the Big Ten regular season standings with a conference record of 12-8 — breaking the Wildcats' previous record for conference wins in a season.
Buie averaged 17.3 points and 4.5 assists per game, and was counted on by Northwestern to create shots for the team in the clutch, and he delivered time and time again.
There are still some big concerns with each player. Buie finished the 2022-23 season with subpar shooting percentages and is currently recovering from surgery on his right hand. And despite Edey's best efforts, Purdue's season was ruined in the first round of the NCAA tournament, when the Boilermakers became only the second No. 1 seed ever to lose to a No. 16 seed when Fairleigh Dickinson beat them.
But regardless, they're two of the most experienced and accomplished players in college basketball entering the 2023-24 season, and will have ample chance to prove Vitale's prediction right.
Related Stories
- INDIANA BEATS GREEK ALL STAR TEAM BY 70 POINTS: Teri Moren and the Indiana women's basketball team is on tour in Greece this August, and the Hoosiers showed they haven't lost a step when they beat a team of Greek All Stars 120-50 in Athens. CLICK HERE
- OFFENSIVE LINE PREVIEW: First up in our Indiana football position previews, the offensive line. This unit has struggled in the last two seasons, and is perhaps the most important position group heading in to 2023. On Wednesday, we talked with new offensive line coach Bob Bostad, as well as linemen Matt Bedford, Mike Katic, Kahlil Benson and Max Longman following the first day of fall camp. CLICK HERE
- OPEN COMPETITION AMONG SECONDARY: Indiana coach Tom Allen held his first presser of fall camp on Tuesday and said that he expects open competition at nearly every position group on the roster, but particularly in the secondary. CLICK HERE
