The Confounder

 Remember Zach Edey, the big galoot from Purdue all the smart guys said was a prehistoric creature unfit for the modern NBA?

Remember how the smart guys said he was A) Just big; B) Could only play five feet from the basket; C)  Had no footwork and no skills except being, you know, Just Big: and, D) Was a second-round NBA draft pick at best ... OK, maybe a late first-round pick ... OK ...?

Wait, what?

He went to the Memphis Grizzlies with the NINTH PICK last night?

Didn't the Grizzlies listen to all the smart guys?

Could it be possible he's not A, B, or C, in addition to not being D?

Could be.

In the meantime, Big Z has a new nickname, or at least he has a new one here in the Blobosphere: The Confounder.

As in, he keeps confounding all the smart guys. And you'd best hold onto your wallet if you were planning on betting that The Confounder will wind up being the worst top-ten pick in NBA history.

No doubt some people are already saying that, and bless their hearts. Me, I'm done thinking there's no place in the modern NBA for Tyrannosaurus Zach. I'm thinking the Grizzlies watched him in the combine with a specific role in mind, and that Edey would fit that role quite well.

Did  I mention the combine?

Apparently The Confounder went there and, you know, Confounded. He was faster than everyone thought. He was more mobile than everyone thought. He shot mid-range Js better than everyone thought. He did all those things, in fact, better than UConn big man Donovan Clingan, who went two picks before him and whom Edey thoroughly outplayed head-to-head in the NCAA championship game.

(A brief sidetrip: When did France become a basketball hotbed? Last year Victor Wembanyama goes No. 1 in the draft; last night three of the top six picks, including the top two, were from France. The first American college player taken was Reed Shepherd of Kentucky at No. 3. I'm guessing he plays Ollie in the subtitled French remake of "Hoosiers", in which he will be called "Olivier" and hits a pair of crucial free throws.)

 But back to Edey.

Who is, yes, better than people think, and likely to keep getting better. That's what happened at Purdue, where Matt Painter plucked him off a pair of hockey skates (not really, but he didn't start playing basketball until he was a sophomore in high school) even though Edey was the No. 436 prospect and No. 75 center in the 2020 recruiting class according to 247 Sports. 

Four years later, he entered the NBA draft as a two-time NCAA Player of the Year, the centerpiece of the first Purdue team to reach the national title game in 55 years, and the best player in Purdue history whose name isn't Rick Mount.

(Another brief sidetrip: When the Grizzlies took Edey with the ninth pick, he became the second Purdue player in three years to go in the first ten picks; Jaden Ivey went No. 5 in 2022. But, nah, Matt Painter's system doesn't turn out pros.)

Look. No one here is saying Edey's going to be a perennial All-Star in the NBA. But his work ethic and developmental history do suggest he can be an effective weapon at the next level. He'll have the endlessly creative Ja Morant as his point guard and a gifted power forward alongside in Jaren Jackson Jr., and I'm guessing the Grizzlies coaching staff is already drawing up schemes to maximize that dynamic.

So my money's on The Confounder. Not like he hasn't been here before, after all.