The Memphis Grizzlies made one of the most intriguing picks of the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft when they selected Zach Edey at No. 9 overall.

Edey is entering the NBA as one of the most decorated college players in recent memory. He's a two-time National Player of the Year and led Purdue to the national championship game last April. On another hand, questions about how his age as a four-year player will determine his ceiling combined with his ability as a 295-pound center to adjust to the NBA are also in the air.

Sam King, who covers the Purdue Boilermakers for The Journal & Courier, answered questions from The Commercial Appeal on what the Grizzlies and fans can expect from their new center.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

CA: What was Zach Edey like to cover every day?

King: He was always a guy who was willing to have a conversation, whether it was media, opponents or fans. The coolest thing I think about Zach Edey was there were many nights where there was a home game. He would go to his media availability after the game and he would walk out of media two hours later taking selfies and signing autographs. He made sure everybody who was there to see him got their picture and autograph. It wasn't like he did this once or twice. He did this after every single game."

CA: How did he handle success from his freshman season to becoming a two-time National Player of the Year?

King: It's crazy that he never played basketball until he was like 16 years old. He was still pretty raw and had a long way to go when he got to Purdue. He split time his first two years, then when Trevion Williams graduated and left, Zach became the full-time center.

It became pretty apparent early in his junior that he was going to have a pretty big year. Purdue fans were loving it, but fans from other schools started to turn on him. That's where he started to get the narrative that he's just tall. I think for a while it probably got to him as a junior. People were so excited for him to rise up, and then as soon as he did, a lot of people tried to tear him down. After adjusting to that, he kind of embraced all of that.

CA: Now let's switch to the NBA. How do you think Edey will handle guarding in space and defense in general?

King: There were a couple instances where Zach got mismatched out on the perimeter. Sometimes, he was able to recover with his length if not for his feet. That's probably where he has to get better the most is guarding in space. It was designed at Purdue to let Zach Edey be the guy, if all else fails, he'll be at the basket to protect us. Because of that, a lot of teams didn't shoot at the rim against Purdue.

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CA: How do you envision Edey playing alongside a point guard like Ja Morant?

King: Ja Morant can throw the ball up and let Edey go get it. Ja Morant is obviously able to jump over, elevate and dunk on top of guys. I think that opportunity is going to be there with the screens. Zach Edey worked relentlessly on screens. It sounds tedious and boring, but that guy worked to get better at every facet of his game to benefit him not only in college (but) moving forward.

CA: What else should people expect from Edey offensively?

King: One thing that nobody seems to talk about or people seem to knock Zach Edey for is that all of his shots come around the rim. In the college level, (Purdue coach) Matt Painter is an idiot if he doesn't take advantage of a 7-foot-4 guy that shoots 70% getting layups and dunks.

Zach Edey can shoot. I've seen him in practice knock down 10 3s in a row, sit there and shoot 20 to 25 3s and hit 15 to 20 of them with regularity. I think that is an element that people will see that they haven't seen on film yet.

CA: He was dominant at getting to the free-throw line in college. How do you think that part of his game will translate?

King: At the college level, you were almost at his mercy. If you didn't foul him, he was going to score. That's because he was so much bigger and stronger. In the NBA, it's a different game. He did seem to struggle against a couple teams that would send a second guy in there to his blindside and kind of rip the ball away without fouling. Northwestern was very successful at that and also Ohio State.

There's definitely a model or blueprint out there that teams are going to have to adapt to and not send him to the line. He's very efficient if he can draw fouls and get to the line.

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Here's what Grizzlies draft pick Zach Edey will bring to Memphis