Purdue Star Center Zach Edey at Full Strength Ahead of Game Against Florida A&M
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue junior center Zach Edey has been a full participant in practice and is set to return to the floor Thursday against Florida A&M after missing the team's matchup with New Orleans on Dec. 21 due to an illness.
"Zach didn't play the last game, so we gotta get him back in the flow of the game," Purdue assistant coach Terry Johnson said. "We want to throw the ball inside to him and have a presence on the inside as well."
When the Boilermakers tip off against the Rattlers at 5 p.m. ET, it will mark nearly two weeks since Edey stepped onto the court for a scheduled game. The team has played just two opponents since its 65-62 overtime win over Nebraska on the road on Dec. 10, and Thursday's contest will be the final game before the new year.
So far this season, Edey is averaging a team-high 22.6 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. His absence against the Privateers opened the door for redshirt freshman forward Trey Kaufman-Renn to step up and register a career-best 24 points. Junior forward Mason Gillis also reached double figures for just the second time this year.
Edey has posted nine double-doubles in 11 games for Purdue and will look to continue his dominance while leading the team to the program's third 13-0 start in school history.
"Since he's been back, he's been good," Johnson said of Edey. "Obviously, there's been a little bit of a bug going around for everyone. We like where we are, we feel like we're healthy. They're ready to beat up on somebody else, they're tired of beating up on each other."
Purdue had a week between games and is set to conclude its nonconference schedule before resuming Big Ten play against Rutgers at Mackey Arena on Jan. 2. The Boilermakers are 2-0 in the conference and will have 18 games left to play against league opponents in the regular season.
"I hope it helps us rest-wise, I hope it doesn't stop us rhythm-wise," Johnson said. "That's the hard part because you're excited about a break, you've been in a gauntlet. You want your guys to get rested up and get a break and get away from basketball.
"Our guys came back with a nice focus, and now you just have to find a game rhythm again. I like the way our guys prepare. They've been improving daily, and now it's time to show it hopefully tomorrow against Florida A&M, and then we'll get ready for Big Ten play against Rutgers."
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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.