It’s time to cut Rick Barnes some slack. The Tennessee coach built a tournament-ready team that just ran into an immovable object against Purdue on Sunday. That wasn’t Barnes’ fault.
Let’s be frank. There haven’t been many Zach Edey’s roam around college basketball recently. Edey, who is 7-foot-4 and 300 pounds, is a throwback player that few coaches – if any – have a good answer for. Edey is huge, has a good set of post moves, gets his own rebounds and is a tough match-up for any team not built to succeed in the 1990’s. Believe it or not, Edey actually knows how to play with his back to the basket.
Edey isn’t just good; he’s different and the Boilermakers follow suit. Edey is like a midseason, triple-option football team showing up on the schedule in October. It’s just tough to deal with. With no one on Tennessee’s roster having the size and girth to defend Edey, the Vols simply had no answers. That was more about Edey than it was about Tennessee.
The Vols certainly didn’t get any help from the officials, who have struggled to properly officiate Edey, given his game and size. Edey wasn’t called for his first four until midway though the second half. Edey shot 22 free throws, making 14. The Vols shot 11 free throws as a team, making seven. Purdue made 21 of their 33 attempts against the Vols. That’s a pretty whopping disparity. In the meantime, things weren’t much better on the other end of the floor as Edey caused more fouls than the Vols could possibly overcome.
There’s a reason why Edey will be the two-time player of the year in college basketball and led Purdue to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He’s just too unstoppable. Now, the Vols could have double-teamed Edey more often, but the fact is the Vols just don’t have an experienced post player to match Edey.
As far as college basketball goes, Edey is an all-time great talent. He’s too big and physical to stop once he gets on the post, which he may be stationed at just a bit too long for the three-second rule. However, cut Barnes some slack. He could coach another 30 years and never see a player like Edey.
