GLENDALE, Ariz. − As dozens of reporters and cameras surrounded Zach Edey in one corner of the locker room on Thursday afternoon at State Farm Stadium, Brandon Brantley stood about 10 feet away.

Brantley, the reigning Howard Moore assistant coach of the year in the Big Ten Conference, and Edey, the two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches national player of the year, have become accustomed to spending time together in close proximity. The 6-8 Brantley spends the bulk of his time coaching the Purdue big men.

“The amount of time we spent in my office,” Brantley said with a smile. “We have a chair with a big dent in it. I don’t think I’ll ever replace it. It’ll be, ‘What happened to the chair?’ That’s Zach’s chair. He’ll come in there with his food and his snacks, whatever. Early on, we’d sit there for hours because he wanted to watch everything and talk about stuff. It was a big piece of his development.”

Purdue’s storied history with big men hit another level with the development of 7-4 Edey, who is the talk of the Arizona desert going into Saturday’s national semifinal game against North Carolina State and it’s star, 6-9 DJ Burns Jr.

Edey was not necessarily destined for stardom, though, coming out of high school. Purdue coach Matt Painter reflected Thursday on the discussion he had with Edey and his resistance to burning a redshirt season in his first year of college. Painter did not make him any promises.

“I remember where I sitting when I got that phone call,” Painter said. “It was really at the end (of his recruitment). He was close to going to Baylor. I just said, ‘Hey man, I can’t promise that to you. But I’m not going to waste your year and not redshirt you if you’re not going to play. But come in here and beat somebody out.’”

Matt Haarms ended up transferring to BYU, which opened Edey's opportunity to go up against Trevion Williams in practice for two seasons. Edey did not redshirt his freshman year. He averaged 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds, then became a full-time starter his sophomore season, averaging 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds.

Another key assistant: Purdue has Final Four experience in Terry Johnson. 'He knows what wins.'

“He was a kid that had only played for four or five years,” Brantley said of Edey. “So, some things were still new to him. Obviously, the college game is a little bit faster. He just kept watching and watching. His first two years Trevion Williams was here so it was a great way to get an education to go against a guy that caliber every day. A lot of things fell into place. I tell people, ‘Give him the credit.’ … I had to match his energy and intensity.”

The hours spent together watching film and working were reflected in Purdue’s on-court celebration in the Elite 8 win over Tennessee in Detroit on Sunday, when Edey and Brantley shared a moment jumping up and down in unison.

Brantley knows all about the heartache of coming close to a Final Four dream. As a full-time starter as a Purdue sophomore, he averaged 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds on the 1993-94 team that knocked off Kansas in the Sweet 16 but lost two days later to Duke to come one win short of the Final Four.

Brantley averaged 10.0 points and 6.1 rebounds as a junior in 1994-95, and 8.8 points and 5.6 rebounds the next year as a senior. Both of those teams won the Big Ten Conference but were bounced in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“I was happy, man,” Brantley said. “It’s been a long time coming. I always wanted to go as a player. Obviously, I didn’t. … The goal is to get to the Final Four. I was happy. I was just hugging everybody. It was great. (Edey’s) joy matched my joy. My joy matched his joy.”

Brantley said he learned a lot from his high school coach at Andrean, Bob Buscher. But even before that, from his father, Cornell Brantley. Lessons he learned playing in the YMCA going back to third grade.

“He coached me in elementary school, coached a little bit in seventh grade and helped out a little bit in high school,” Brantley said of his father. “But the real sessions were at home. Sitting around watching college and pro games, going to high school games. The conversations were always basketball, even to this day. He’s got a list of, ‘You guys are playing this team, make sure you are doing this or this.’ He loves the big guys, too, so he’s saying, ‘Tell Zach to keep the ball high,’ or ‘Don’t put it down on the floor so fast,’ or ‘Elevate his hook.’ That’s always the conversation. He loves basketball.”

Brantley listens to his 75-year-old father because, well, that is how he was taught. And because the former Purdue captain, now in his 11^th year as an assistant, knows you can never stop learning in this business.

“I can be in this thing for 50 years and never stop learning,” Brantley said. “That’s the great thing about coaching. When I was young you kind of looked at a coach like he had all the answers, and he was never wrong. There’s been days where these kids teach me lessons and I need to go back and apply this or change what I’m doing.”

Caleb Furst, the 2021 IndyStar Mr. Basketball, said Brantley's role is a “huge integral part” of Purdue's success.

“I was happy he was able to get his flowers,” Furst said. “He's one of those guys you want to hang out with on the court and off the court. To me, I think that's important because a lot of coaches, you can't really build a relationship with them. ... He's someone you know cares about you off the court. He's there for you."

The ever-deferential Brantley does not take credit for Edey’s development as college basketball’s most dominant player. The opportunity to learn was there. The opportunity to work was there. Edey took it and ran with it.

“I don’t know what you call a guy like that,” Brantley said. “He’s a master.”

The dented chair in Brantley’s office is proof of Edey’s study habits.

“I’m going to leave it there,” Brantley said. “When the next guy comes in, I may have to say something to him. ‘If you can put a dent in that other chair, then you’ve arrived.’”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball assistant Brandon Brantley helps Zach Edey develop