Purdue Junior Center Zach Edey Named to 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue junior center Zach Edey was among 20 players named to the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.
The award is presented annually to the nation's top center in college basketball. Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe was the recipient of the honor at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Elite player on an elite list.
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) October 28, 2022
✅: @zach_edey named to @Hoophall Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award list. pic.twitter.com/DFh4Icncpv
“Rounding out the Men’s Starting Five Watch List is the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. The student-athletes on this list should feel tremendously proud of all they have accomplished to be associated with basketball’s all-time leading scorer,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, in a release. “With his focus on both education and athletics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s perspective is cherished by our committee when evaluating talent each year.”
Edey is one of three players from the Big Ten Conference who were named to the watch list, joining Rutgers’ Cliff Omoruyi and Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson. The Boilermakers have had a player named to the preseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watch list in seven of the last eight seasons.
The 7-foot-4 center from Toronto, Ontario, was a unanimous selection to the 2022-23 Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Edey averaged 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in just 19 minutes per game during the 2021-22 season while leading the conference in field goal percentage.
Edey is the only player in the last 30 years to average 14 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block while playing in less than 20 minutes per game. He is one of just five players to accomplish those numbers in under 25 minutes per contest.
Purdue basketball is scheduled to begin the regular season on Nov. 8 against Milwaukee inside Mackey Arena. The team will also play an exhibition game against a visiting Truman State on Nov. 2.
2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Candidates*
- Charles Bediako, Alabama
- Oumar Ballo, Arizona
- PJ Hall, Clemson
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
- Dereck Lively II, Duke
- Colin Castleton, Florida
- Osun Osunniyi, Iowa State
- Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
- Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
- Armando Bacot, North Carolina
- Moussa Cissé, Oklahoma State
- Kel'el Ware, Oregon
- Zach Edey, Purdue
- Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
- Fardaws Aimaq, Texas Tech
- Adem Bona, UCLA
- Adama Sanogo, UConn
- Branden Carlson, Utah
- Jamarion Sharp, Western Kentucky
- Jack Nunge, Xavier
*Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2022-2023 season.*
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- Zach Edey Unanimously Voted to Preseason All-Big Ten Team
- Matt Painter Discusses Last Year, Optimism for 2022-23 Season
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.