How former Purdue basketball star Zach Edey became the pitchman for KFC
Basketball wasn't yet on Zach Edey's mind, but fried chicken certainly was.
"KFC is something I have really good memories of when I was a kid," Edey said. "My family on my mom’s side used to do picnics. One of my aunts would always bring a big bucket of chicken.
"I've always had fond memories of that."
Once Edey found basketball, he blossomed into a two-time national player of the year who led Purdue to its first national championship game appearance since 1969 this season.
He 'changed this program': Zach Edey's Purdue basketball legacy is in rarified air
Edey is a projected first-round pick in next week's NBA draft. He'll watch the draft with family and friends despite a green room invite to attend the draft.
Zach Edey gets buckets.
KFC saw marketing dollars and Edey received his first prominent professional endorsement deal.
But it took some additional work.
Due to Edey's Canadian status, the commercial shoots had to be done in Canada. A crew was in Toronto last month shooting spots with Edey.
The commercials began running during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.
"They made allowances for my situation and moved it up to Toronto, which is something that is more expensive to do that," Edey said. "They could’ve taken an American athlete and been done with it."
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 is a pitchman for KFC. How it happened for ex-Purdue center
