Zach Edey Makes Team Canada’s FIBA World Cup Roster
On Thursday, Team Canada officially announced its 12-person roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The roster is littered with big names: All-NBA first-teamer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, former No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett, defensive stalwart Luguentz Dort and the newly-inked Dillon Brooks.
Zach Edey also made the cut, but rather than following up his FIBA performance with NBA action, he’ll be heading back to Purdue for one of his final chances at winning a national title and propelling his draft stock even higher.
Edey has tested the waters in each of the past few seasons, but has opted to return to the Boilermakers time and again.
At 7-foot-4, Edey is a true big man with adept interior scoring, solid rim-protection and a glass-cleaning mindset. He’s seen massive improvements in each of his collegiate seasons, and is sure to get even better in his senior year.
He has a long list of collegiate accolades already, winning the Wooden Award and National Player of the Year Award for his performance last season. As a junior, he averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor and 73 percent from the line.
And he’ll also be Team Canada’s only true big as they prepare themselves for the likes of Rudy Gobert and a tough French squad.
There's little left to prove for Edey from an NBA Draft perspective. But solid play in both FIBA and college basketball certainly can't hurt his chance next June.
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