DETROIT — There's a point during every game or workout where Purdue center Zach Edey flips a switch in his mind.

His breathing may speed up and the sweat drips from his body more profusely but in his mind he's not tired. Or at the very least, he works hard to never let his opponent know when he's feeling fatigued.

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"I feel like I've always been a pretty hard worker on the court," Edey said. "I'm never gonna sub myself out. I'm never gonna tell (coach) Paint I'm tired. My mentality when I'm playing is, 'I don't get tired.' ... Playing a big share of minutes is more like a mentality than it is actually physical.

"You just got to tell yourself to keep pushing. You're fine. You're not tired."

Edey spent the first two years of his career sharing frontcourt duties with center Trevion Williams. The two rarely played together, and unless Williams was in foul trouble, Edey's playing time rarely exceeded 20 minutes per game. Heading into his junior year, Edey knew he had to accept a bigger workload as Purdue's primary big man. He nearly doubled his minutes from 18.9 per game as a sophomore to 31.7 as a junior. He excelled in 2022-23, winning National Player of the Year averaging 22 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.

Dominant numbers aside, at the professional level, scouts are wary of a player Edey's size ever being more than just a role player. Questions about his athleticism and ability to guard in space remained, so Edey headed into this offseason with the goal of dropping weight and improving his quickness. The senior is listed at 7-4, 300 pounds, just five pounds lighter than listed weight last season, but the gains in athleticism have been noticeable. He’s increased his scoring to 24 points per game.

Once seen as a fringe draft pick, Edey's excellent conditioning and improved mobility has him projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

"When you look at Zach Edey from a coach's standpoint and players too, you appreciate when someone gets better the way he has," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "He's gotten better and better every year. He runs (well). We like to think you could get guys tired, but I think he moves extremely well.

"I think that's the difference in where he was a couple years ago. He's really been able to move. He's a good screener, but he knows exactly on the court where he wants to get his space and where he wants to set up, and they do a great job of getting it to him when he gets there. ... He's just improved. That's what you admire about him. You admire players that get better from year to year."

Through years of experience playing in the NCAA tournament, Purdue coach Matt Painter knows all the tricks of the trade, like how the longer TV timeouts help his players get an extra minute or so of rest. The 38 minutes Edey logged against Gonzaga were the most he's played in more than a month. Edey's averaging 32 minutes per game during the tournament, one minute longer than his season average. With the season on the line, Edey's prepared to play the entire 40 minutes if he has to.

"His stamina is something for someone his size," Painter said. "Now they have these long timeouts. So, it convinces me not to take him out. Those guys are like, 'Hey, he needs a blow. He needs a blow.' I'm like, 'No, the timeouts are longer, so we don't have to take him out.' It's amazing someone of that size can play that long."

Edey said he began developing mental toughness as a hockey player growing up in Canada. Toughness and hockey go hand-in-hand. You're forced to be tough as a hockey player, and Edey took that approach to improving his conditioning.

"It's a lot of work whether you're playing pickup or trying to run to get cardio in or doing conditioning, just making sure I'm not stopping," Edey said "I'm trying to push myself. Push myself to not take any breaks. ... It is kind of a hockey thing. They are all tough guys. Being a macho guy rubs off on you." 

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Zach Edey's improved conditioning keeps him on court for Purdue