Purdue coach Matt Painter slams critics who claim 7ft 4ins star center Zach Edey ‘is just tall’ after March Madness win against Utah State: ‘They shouldn’t cover basketball’
Purdue head coach Matt Painter has hit out at critics of star center, Zach Edey, as he claimed ‘they shouldn’t cover basketball,’ after the team’s second-round win against Utah State.
The 53-year-old Painter, who’s in his 19th season in charge of the Boilermakers, was asked his thoughts on ‘people that cover the game’ saying Edey, who’s 7-ft-4, ‘is just tall,’ by a college basketball reporter following Sunday’s 106-67 win in Indianapolis.
‘What would you say to the people that say that, that are only looking at the size…?’ the journalist followed up.
Taking a deadpan tone before answering the question, Painter said, ‘yeah… they just shouldn’t cover basketball,’ as others at the press conference proceeded to laugh at the press conference.
‘Yeah, you know…’ Painter added after nodding his head in front of reporters: ‘And so like you got to school and you learn things or whatever, but we all don’t like every single class we’re in, right?
Purdue head coach Matt Paint took a deadpan tone with talking about Zach Edey’s critics, Sun.
Edey – a 7-ft-4 center for the Boilermakers – had 23 points and 14 rebounds against Utah State
‘It’s kind of an unnecessary evil. It’s like going to work…
‘Like you don’t like everybody you work with, or you don’t like certain parts of your job, and, you know, it’s tough right? You gotta be able to deal with certain things that are difficult and so I just think everybody should, like, take tests of their knowledge of what they’re doing.
‘Like, I think all coaches should take a tests so they understand refereeing. And I think all referees should take a test so they understand coaching. And I think all journalists should have to take a basketball quiz or a test, or, anybody that tweets… they should be able do it.
Edey has three career games with 30 points and 20 rebounds since joining Purdue in 2020
‘If they say something so moronic as that, then they should have probationary status where they can’t tweet for like three months. I think it will help society, you know? I just try to knock out the fools, you know, they don’t have to meet at the local Walmart and say things that don’t make any sense.’
Edey, who has three career games with 30 points and 20 rebounds in just as many seasons at Purdue (the most by any Div. I player this century), scored 23 points and had 14 rebounds against Utah State on Sunday.
He was seen high-fiving air in a first-round matchup against Grambling State, as he had no teammates around him on a technical foul shot.
The No.1-seeded Purdue Boilermakers will next take on the No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 on March 29. The game’s location is yet to be determined.
