Big men are going to be a huge problem at Final Four as Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan show 7-footers are back

“I got banned from trick or treating in fourth grade because people got mad at me because I was too big,” Purdue’s 7-foot-4 All-American post said Thursday in the run up to the Final Four. “Not banned, but I’d get the little stink eyes. I was like, six foot, going door-to-door.”

On a tradition built around the delights of children, fourth-grade Zach looked too much like an adult. You don’t have to imagine much past the dirty looks to figure out those optics.

Now at the top of his game, and the world, many would suggest Edey has zipped right past being too big for his age all the way to being superhuman. He has a bit of company this week.

Going into this historic Final Four, Edey might as well be the master of ceremonies, the keynote speaker for the college game’s newest topic: The big man is back. How’s the weather up there? Take a look around State Farm Stadium for an answer to that cruel grade-school question asked of every player whose height has outstripped his age.

Edey is joined in this bracket by 7-2 UConn post Donovan Clingan and NC State’s 6-9 post DJ Burns Jr. Their games are centered around playing like … centers. You know, old school. Throw the ball into the middle and let things happen.

In a game that has been guard-centric for decades, good, old-fashioned basketball Darwinism has broken out. Natural selection has fought back. Tall and strong is beating quick and swift.

That’s a generalization but so is making fun of a kid like Edey who was 6-10 in the eighth grade.

“When you have a dominant big man who can really play it’s a cheat code,” Purdue forward Mason Gillis said. “That’s what I call Zach — a cheat code.”

Something has changed in the college game. According to CBS Sports research, the 36 7-footers averaging at least 20 minutes in Division I this season is tied for the most in the last 25 years. The eight that played for top 25 teams is the most in the last 15 years.

There are six who are averaging at least 16 points, the most in the last 25 seasons. They are: