After reaching the national championship game last season, guided by senior center Zach Edey, Matt Painter and the Purdue Boilermakers are preparing for the upcoming season. Edey, who secured Player of the Year for the second year running, played a crucial role in Purdue’s triumph.
As Purdue’s primary scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker, Edey is anticipated to transition to the NBA next season. In light of his imminent departure, here are five prospective candidates that Matt Painter and the Boilermakers might consider recruiting as replacements.
5 potential Zach Edey replacements Matt Painter and Purdue can look for post-2024 NBA Draft
1. Clifford Omoruyi
Rutgers center Clifford Omoruyi entered the transfer portal for his final season of eligibility. He has yet to find a new home for the upcoming season, and Purdue is in search of a dominant center who could replace Edey.
Omoruyi is 6-foot-11 and is one of the top centers available in the transfer portal. Replacing Edey’s size (7-foot-4) will be nearly impossible, but Omoruyi is a more mobile player on the interior.
2. Moussa Cisse
Ole Miss center Moussa Cisse is another top center that could be a transfer portal target for Purdue. He began his career at Memphis before transferring to Oklahoma State for two seasons. He moved to Ole Miss last season and is now looking for a new home in his final year of eligibility.
Cisse is 7-foot and is one of the top centers Matt Painter could use in place of Zach Edey. Cisse struggled to stay healthy last season, playing in a career-low 26 games. He hasn’t put up Edey’s scoring and rebounding numbers, but he is an excellent rim protector who averages 1.7 bpg in his career.
3. Achor Achor
At 6-foot-9, Samford forward Achor Achor wouldn’t bring the same size to Purdue that Edey did, but he can score at a high rate, and his rebounding numbers continue to improve. Achor played two seasons at Chipola College in Florida before transferring to Samford in 2022.
His numbers made a massive leap last season when he averaged 16.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.8 bpg. Achor could give Matt Painter an athletic big man who can score and protect the rim at a high level.
4. Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins would be another replacement for Zach Edey, who may be slightly smaller than Edey but is extremely athletic. Hawkins measures 6-foot-10 but can play all over the floor. He averaged 12.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 2.7 apg last season at Illinois.
Hawkins is also an elite defender who averaged 1.5 spg and 1.1 bpg a season ago. While he wouldn’t be the kind of post-up threat that Edey was, he would give Purdue an athletic player with size and elite defensive ability.
5. Will Berg
If Matt Painter and Purdue can’t pull in a replacement for Zach Edey from the transfer portal, Will Berg will be next in line as the Boilermaker’s starting big man. Berg saw limited play time during his freshman season last year behind Edey.
The 7-foot-2 center from Sweden appeared in 14 games and averaged 2.6 ppg and 1.9 rpg. Averaging just 3.7 minutes per game, he hasn’t been able to display his full skill set yet, but he could prove himself a suitable replacement for Edey
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