A real boy after all

 Chatted the other night with an IU basketball fan about Zach Edey, who of course played for Purdue and would therefore seem to be, on general principle, an object of ridicule for said fan.

Surprisingly, he agreed that Edey was pretty damn good after all, and not just tall like his detractors always said.

"Yeah, he's a better Uwe Blab with better hands," the IU fan said at one point, after I mentioned that among Edey's skills was a pair of quality mitts.

Which of course got us reminiscing about Uwe's legendarily bad hands, which -- as the IU fan pointed out -- didn't keep him from playing in the NBA for several years.

Five years, to be exact. With the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. Averaged 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds. I looked it up.

Zach Edey, it must be said, is faring a bit better than that.

Twenty-two games into the season he's averaging a modest double-double for the Memphis Grizzlies -- 14.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per, on astounding 67.1 percent shooting. And in his last three games, he's quietly put together some sit-up-and-take-notice numbers.

Against San Antonio two nights ago: 19 points, 15 rebounds and a block.

Against Sacramento two nights before that: 32 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks.

Against the Clippers last Friday: Just five points, but 19 boards, a couple of assists and three more blocks.

He is, in other words, exactly what some of us (OK, so me) figured he would be: An effective, sneaky-mobile low-blocks presence in a league that still occasionally needs one.

No, he's never going to a big scorer, because it's not a back-to-the-basket league anymore. But neither the Grizzlies nor anyone else expected him to be. He is, rather, exactly what the Grizzlies were looking for when they took him with the ninth pick in the 2024 NBA draft, shocking the gurus who figured he'd be lucky to go in the first round:

A rebounder. A rim protector. A reliable inside option on those occasions when you need an inside option.

But of course, he's just tall.

And he has no skills.

And he's waaay too much the big galoot to ever make a ripple in the NBA.

Well. Look out there now, as Zach Edey one-hands a pass that's headed out of bounds and cashes the layup. What do you see?

Me, I see a ripple or two. And a real boy after all.