As Olympics loom, Canada's Zach Edey focused on task at hand with Purdue

Zach Edey made an important discovery at the World Cup.

The 21-year-old from Toronto was part of the Canadian team, alongside the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks, that won bronze and qualified for the Olympics at the tournament last summer.

He said it was "really cool" being surrounded by all that talent.

Edey, the hulking seven-foot-four centre currently in his senior season with Purdue, is hoping to join the majority of his teammates in the NBA next season.

But the Canadian said his focus for now is on his college season, in which the fourth-ranked Boilermakers are hoping to right last year's wrong, when they became just the second No. 1 seed to ever lose in the first round.

"That loss was really tough, something it took me a little while to get over. I didn't really speak to anyone that night, didn't really speak to anyone the next day. And then the following day you kind of open up and you have to accept that it happened," he said.

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"At the end of the day it's in my past. I can't change it. It's part of me."

Edey was the national player of the year last season, but it's the loss that clearly lingers.

Even as he prepares to enter the NBA draft, he is less worried about his professional future and more concentrated on the task at hand.

"Obviously the NBA is the end goal. Like I want to be in that league for a long time. But right now, the only thing I'm really focused on is helping Purdue," he said.

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Still, the upcoming Olympics are lingering in the back of Edey's mind. He said he maintains occasional communication with head coach Jordi Fernandez and is also in touch with assistant Michael