Move over Victor Wembanyama, there’s a new 7ft superstar in town.

Last year Wembanyama, a 7ft 3.5in generational talent from France, sent the basketball world into a frenzy as the most promising NBA prospect since LeBron James.

The 20-year-old’s silky shooting touch, ball-handling abilities and passing skills, combined with out of this world length, shot-blocking and rim-protecting abilities made him a wholly unique talent which had never been seen before.

Wemby was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA Draft and has set the league on fire during his debut season while breaking all kinds of records in what’s likely to be a Rookie of the Year campaign.

But now, on the eve of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, there’s a new 7ft phenom on the block and he’s even taller than Wembanyama.

Zach Edey is quite literally the biggest name in college basketball.

Officially listed at a gargantuan 7ft 4in, the Purdue Boilermakers star has dominated the college scene and is now set to take March Madness by storm.

The Canadian big man is the tallest player in Big Ten Conference history and was recently named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season, making it the second straight year he has won the award.

Edey is a 7ft 4in menace
The 21-year-old is just the second player since 2000 to win the award in consecutive seasons, and was also named to the All-Defense team and 1st Team All-Big Ten.

Edey, whose mother was born to Chinese immigrants in Toronto, is one of the most dominant big men in college basketball in decades.

He’s a beast around the basket on both ends of the court

The Purdue star looks nailed on to win his second straight National Player of the Year Award
He won the National Player of the Year Award last season and looks odds on to win it again this year to become the first player to win back-to-back awards since Bill Walton in 1971 and 1972.

On Tuesday he was the unanimous headliner for the Associated Press men’s college basketball All-America team, topping all 62 ballots from poll voters in results.

This season, the 300lb centre has averaged 24.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for the Boilermakers, who also won the Big Ten regular-season title.

Edey announced that he was opting out of the 2023 NBA Draft last season to return to Purdue for his senior season and finishes his four year-stint with the school as a bona fide program legend.

The 7-footer recently had his home finale at Mackey Arena where he finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 78-70 win over Wisconsin.

Edey became the first Big Ten player with 2,200 points and 1,200 rebounds.

The towering senior has 2,339 career points, and recently passed Rick Mount’s program record of 2,323 at the Big Ten Tournament last weekend.

He also currently holds the record for rebounds at Purdue with 1,223 recently passing former NBA player Joe Barry Carroll’s longstanding record.

After the win against the Badgers, Edey had his No.15 jersey retired with head coach Matt Painter saying: “He [Zach] always showed up for four years.

“He deserves everything that comes his way.”

He decided against declaring for last year’s NBA Draft to do one more year in college

The Boilermakers center is one of the most exciting players in the upcoming NCAA Tournament

He has a chance to improve his draft stock with a national title

Purdue recently failed to defend its Big Ten Tournament championship after losing 76-75 to Wisconsin in the semifinals of the tourney on Saturday.

Edey did his part, though, leading the Boilermakers with 28 points.

The game eventually went to overtime and the Badgers did just enough to secure a 76-75 win.

The loss dropped Purdue to 29-4 overall but they still managed to reclaim their No.1 ranking for this week’s NCAA Tournament.

The Boilermakers will play the winner of Grambling State and Montana State in the first round.

The game will take place in Indianapolis on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse — home of the Indiana Pacers – to kick-off Purdue’s 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Edey will lead Purdue out at ‘The Big Dance’ over the next month in the hopes of avenging last year’s embarrassing first round exit to Farleigh Dickinson and finishing his college career with a national title.

On a personal level, he’ll also be looking to make a splash in front of the many scouts and front office execs who will be tuning into March Madness to assess the talent ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Edey is a throwback center with great footwork who’s basically unstoppable inside the paint on both ends of the floor.

However, in an era in the professional ranks where floor spacing and outside shooting are paramount, there have been question marks over Edey’s ability to translate his game from college to the NBA.

But in a pretty weak draft class decidedly lacking in terms of top-end talent, Edey has a chance to set himself apart from the competition over the next four weeks and rise up June’s draft board.

He may not be a ‘unicorn’ talent like Wembanyama, but the 7-foot giant has an undeniably unique set of skills that could be invaluable to NBA teams, much like Rudy Gobert is to the high-flying Minnesota Timberwolves.

But all that NBA talk will be saved for another day.

Right now, there’s the small matter of the NCAA Tournament, and the opportunity for Edey to have a fairy-tale ending to a rather historic college career.