Zach Edey and his chase to become the best college player in Purdue basketball history

WEST LAFAYETTE − Zach Edey didn't need to prove anything.

Except he kind of did.

Purdue basketball's center is the face of college basketball, and even though his last two games have produced solid numbers they aren't Zach Edey numbers, and you can throw a holiday break game against Eastern Kentucky (13 points, 7 rebounds) in there, too, for that matter.

Edey, the unselfish superstar of the Boilermakers, was never deterred.

"I know who I am," Edey said after Purdue defeated Penn State 95-78 on Saturday at Mackey Arena.

After a bounce-back game, everyone else got a reminder of who Edey is, too.

More: Purdue vs. Penn State player ratings: Zach Edey masterpiece dooms Nittany Lions

By halftime, he had 19 points and 13 rebounds against the Nittany Lions.

Edey finished with 30 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.

"That's some Wilt Chamberlain-like numbers," Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. "We didn't have an answer for him."

It was the second 30-20 game of Edey's career. He had 31 points and 22 rebounds in a win over Minnesota last season.

Prior to Saturday's game, Edey was honored for joining Purdue's 1,000-rebound club last week. It's a club of two. The only other to do it was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

Edey showed he's not someone to stereotype.

Trust that Edey is fully aware there's still a significant number of people who believe he's an immobile big man who wouldn't succeed in basketball if not for his unorthodox size.

Edey had a fastbreak drunk, racing down the court in transition and trailing point guard Braden Smith, who turned and tossed the ball to Edey for a two-handed jam.

Later, Edey snagged an offensive rebound and, rather than fall out of bounds, was able to plant his feet against the end line, spin back under the backboard and throw in a reverse layup.

Immobile big men don't do either of those things.

"He's obviously a special player," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "But he's also one of those guys if you've never faced him, he's hard to prepare for. You can watch him on film, but you don't recognize how big and strong he is until you play against him."

As Rhoades found out firsthand.

In the postgame press conference, Edey spoke on what it means to be just the second Boilermaker to reach 1,000 rebounds, especially at a place with a long and sustained history of success.

But Edey isn't through yet.

He has a realistic shot to leave Purdue as the program's career leader in points and rebounds.

Edey needs 411 points to catch Rick Mount and 115 rebounds to match Joe Barry Carroll's career program records.

Edey likely will become Purdue's career rebounding leader before the regular season's final 14 games conclude. To pass Mount, Purdue probably will need to extend its its schedule with postseason success.

He knows who he is, Edey said after Saturday's game.

And that's perhaps the greatest college player in Purdue basketball history, but Edey will reminisce on that down the road.

"I am not trying to think about it right now," Edey said. "I am trying to focus on the season we have ahead of us."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Zach Edey chasing history to become best Purdue basketball player ever