No disrespect to the rest of the players selected before Zach Edey, but in my honest opinion, he should have been drafted number 1 overall. He led the NCAA in scoring last season, averaging 25.2 ppg, 12.2 rpg, and 2.2 bpg. I don't care what anybody says. With those numbers, he should have been drafted at number 1. The main reason is because of his size. He can post, he can screen, and he can take over a game.
The Memphis Grizzlies are very fortunate that eight teams bypassed him. Wow! It is quite amazing how expert scouts could have missed this. I do not understand the logic behind him being passed by eight other teams.
Zach Edey's mother is of Chinese descent while his father is Canadian. Growing up, he knew he was different.
"That's kind of when I started realizing I'm very different from people because I grew up in a very white neighborhood when I started playing basketball. All of a sudden you see everything and then you realize, "'Hey, I'm Chinese.'"
He grew up tall, very tall at 7-foot-4, 300 pounds. He is a big man who is very mobile and has excellent vision on the floor, recognizing when his teammates need a screen. At this age, he is better than Yao Ming. It is hard for me to say that, but even Yao Ming would have had a hard time putting up those numbers if he had played at a university at that age. Eventually, Yao Ming grew into his own and became a legendary figure in the NBA, despite not winning an NBA championship. He was close, but injury got in the way of him playing any further.
Another reason why I would have drafted him number one is his work ethic. He puts the work in. And it shows.
He had been labeled one of the worst picks in history. I laugh at that. People who say that have not heard of potential. A little potential at 7-foot-4 is worth a lot more than a 6-foot-4. There used to be a time when that actually made sense. You just do not see many players like Edey anymore. The NBA is changing and dominant big men at the center position are no longer as heavily sought after as it was in the past.
Prove them wrong, Zach!