Purdue’s Zach Edey AP Men’s Player of the Year

Zach Edey spent the days after Purdue's historic NCAA tournament loss lying low, his phone turned off, along with the rest of the outside world.

The disappointing finish did little to diminish the season the Boilermakers big man had.

After dominating at both ends of the floor during the regular season, Edey was a near-unanimous choice as the Associated Press men's college basketball Player of the Year. Edey received all but one vote from a 58-person media panel, with Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the other.

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"The season ended in disappointment, which really sucks, but it's always nice to win individual accolades," Edey said. "It kind of validates your work a little bit. The last three years I've played here, I've seen my game grow every year. AP Player of the Year is a great feeling, it just kind of stinks the way the season ended."

That ending came in the NCAA tournament's first round when Purdue lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, joining Virginia in 2018 as the only men's No. 1 seeds to lose to a No. 16.

Before that, Edey dominated.

The 7-foot-4 Canadian was named a unanimous AP All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year after finishing sixth nationally in scoring (22.3), second in rebounding (12.8) and first in double-doubles (26).

Edey also shot 62% from the floor and averaged 2.1 blocked shots per game while leading Purdue to its first outright Big Ten regular-season title since 2017. He is the first player since Navy's David Robinson in 1985-86 to have at least 750 points, 450 rebounds and 50 blocked shots in a season.