WEST LAFAYETTE − Despite being down 16 points to top-ranked Michigan at halftime, Purdue basketball fans had something to cheer about ahead of the second half.
Memphis Grizzlies center and the Boilermakers’ all-time leading scorer Zach Edey returned to his alma mater during NBA All-Star weekend.
Edey was welcomed to cheers when he arrived on Tuesday, Feb. 17, early in the first half, but his return to the court after the first half was a more wholesome moment.
Returning to his seat for the second half, Edey – who scored 2,516 points and was a two-time National Player of the Year at Purdue from 2020-24 – was assisting Gene Keady to his seat.
Keady, 89, is Purdue’s all-time winningest coach with 512 victories over 25 seasons and a frequent attendee at Boilermakers home games. In 2024, when Edey’s 40 points against Tennessee secured Purdue a Final Four berth, Edey cut down a piece of the net in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena and gifted it to Keady.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Watch Zach Edey’s gesture to Gene Keady at Purdue basketball game
Reporting by Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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