Kevin Keatts jokes about upcoming trend of traditional big men following Final Four
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Kevin Keatts knows college basketball follows the trends. Recently, the trend has been toward more position-less basketball and versatile big men.
This time around, the Final Four is turning that trend on its head. In NC State’s DJ Burns, Purdue’s Zach Edey and UConn’s Donovan Clingan, the basketball world will get to see some traditional big men on display in Phoenix.
“Well, I think everybody probably needs to go out and get a big guy now. These are trends. It was trending towards nobody would play with their back to the basket,” said Keatts. “We’re in the Final Four, three guys have led their teams to the Final Four because of the way they play.”
Burns has particularly elevated his program, scoring at least 16+ points 5 times since the start of the ACC Tournament. He scored 29 points in a resounding Elite 8 win over Duke.
Now, Burns and the Wolfpack get a showdown with Edey, a player Keatts admits is keeping him up at night. Edey has at least 23+ points and 14+ rebounds in every NCAA Tournament game this season, including a career-high 40 points against Tennessee and 2 games of 30+ points and 15+ rebounds. Purdue enters that showdown as a 9.5-point favorite per ESPN Bet.
“I mean, all three of those guys are really good. I’m excited about DJ Burns, great touch, lefty, willing passer. Obviously we’re going to play against Zach Edey. If you ask me who keeps you up at night right now, it’s Zach Edey,” Keatts admitted.
“He’s playing at a high level. He can score the ball. We got to get him out of that lane. He lives in that lane. He’s really talented. The way he’s become a lot better is he passes the ball a lot.”
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Clingan, UConn’s 7-foot-2 sophomore is the other traditional big man in the Final Four, is coming off a particularly dominant showing against Illinois. He delivered 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 steals as the Huskies blew past the Illini and into the Final Four.
Nate Oats’ Alabama squad does utilize 6-foot-10 forward Grant Nelson, but he is a more versatile forward for the Crimson Tide. While Nelson will play a key role against UConn, he is not afraid to step out the lane and stretch the defense while the rest of the big men involved are traditionally utilized in the post.
From those 4 big men, Edey leads the group (and all players listed) in FanDuel‘s odds to become the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Edey is listed at +195 while Clingan is tied for the 2nd-best odds at +340. Burns (+2900) and Nelson (+10000) are not given much of a shot to take home the honor, but that could be related to NC State and Alabama serving as big underdogs in the semifinals.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
