Big Ten Roundup: Edey Declares For NBA Draft; Papa Kante Reopens Recruitment

In today's Big Ten Roundup, Purdue's National Player of the Year Zach Edey declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining collegiate eligibility, Ohio State football moved to No. 1 in the 2024 recruiting rankings and Michigan basketball recruit Papa Kante requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent.

The landscape of Big Ten basketball in 2023-24 largely relies on an upcoming decision from its best player.

On Tuesday, Purdue center and National Player of the Year Zach Edey declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility. 

Edey will go through the NBA draft process, which includes working out for teams, interviewing with coaches and front office members and more. Once he receives feedback on his NBA prospects, Edey will either choose to stay in the draft or return to Purdue for his senior season.

If Edey elects to stay at Purdue, it would mark the second consecutive year that the National Player of the Year returned to college, joining Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe. Before Tshiebwe. This hadn't happened since Tyler Hansbrough returned to North Carolina for the 2008-09 season and won the national championship.

Edey was the frontrunner for National Player of the Year for nearly the entire 2022-23 season, following dominant performances in November against West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke in the PK85 Invitational. Edey continued his success against Big Ten opponents, ultimately averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks with a 60.9 field goal percentage en route to winning the Big Ten regular season title and conference tournament.

Led by Edey's dominance, Purdue earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. But for the second time in history, a No. 16 seed took down a No. 1 seed as Fairleigh Dickinson stunned the Boilermakers, 63-58.

In the aftermath of Purdue's upset loss, Edey has an interesting decision to make. 

If he chooses to return to Purdue, he'd join a roster nearly identical to the one that steamrolled through the Big Ten in 2022-23. Guards David Jenkins Jr. (graduation) and Brandon Newman (transfer portal) are Purdue's only current losses, meaning Edey is the final piece to Purdue returning its entire starting five and having national championship potential. By returning, he could also benefit from NIL money in college, although those rules are more complicated for international players.

On the other hand, Edey would likely be a second-round pick due the NBA moving away from traditional centers and his age. There's also the question of how much his NBA draft stock could improve in college, knowing that he already won National Player of the Year. It's possible Edey becomes a more highly-coveted NBA prospect if he can improve his mobility and quickness, or perhaps even developing a mid-range shot. But even if he doesn't improve his draft stock, returning to a team with No. 1 seed potential could be hard to turn down. 

He'll have time to weigh those factors in the upcoming weeks, with May 31 as the deadline to withdraw from the draft.

Papa Kante reopens recruitment

On Tuesday, Michigan basketball recruit Papa Kante requested a release from his National Letter of Intent, according to On3's Joe Tipton.

Kante is a 6-foot-10, 215-pound center out of South Kent School in Connecticut. He is a four-star recruit, ranked No. 107 in the class of 2023 by the 247Sports Composite.

Kante was one of Michigan's two high school commitments in 2023, joining four-star guard George Washington III. Michigan coach Juwan Howard has been busy in the transfer portal this offseason, adding guard Caleb Love from North Carolina, guard Nimari Burnett from Alabama and forward Tray Jackson from Seton Hall.

The Wolverines will be without their top three scorers from 2022-23, as center Hunter Dickinson entered the transfer portal and guards Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard declared for the NBA draft. Joey Baker was also denied a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Ohio State leads football recruiting rankings

Coach Ryan Day is putting together quite an impressive 2024 recruiting class.

After a few recent commitments and de-commitments, Ohio State passed Georgia for the No. 1 spot in the 2024 team recruiting rankings, according to 247Sports.

Five-star tight end Landen Thomas de-committed from Georgia in favor of Florida State, dropping the Bulldogs to No. 2, ahead of Michigan, LSU and Florida State.

The Buckeyes' two most recent commitments include five-star wide receiver Mylan Graham, the No. 21 player in the country. Graham stands at 6-foot-1 out of New Haven High School in New Haven, Ind. He joins Jeremiah Smith, the No. 2 player in the country, as Ohio State's second wide receiver in this class.

Along with Graham, Ohio State recently gained the commitment of Payton Pierce, a 6-foot-1 linebacker out of Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Tex. Pierce is a four-star recruit, ranked No. 152 in the nation. 

Ohio State is tied with Georgia for the most five-star recruits in the country with two, followed by eight four-star recruits and two three-star recruits.