Canada's 7-foot-4 secret weapon, Zach Edey, is hiding in plain sight

Zach Edey never wanted to be characterized by his height, which is now listed at seven-foot-four.

And so, as a kid, he skipped basketball for basically every other sport, including lacrosse, soccer, tennis, hockey and eventually baseball, where he was a pitcher with big-league dreams.

One summer in high school, Edey's arm started barking a bit, and a friend suggested he come to a rec basketball game. It took some convincing, but eventually Edey agreed to hit the court as a form of cross-training and conditioning.

He was hooked after one practice.

Now, Toronto's Edey is the reigning NCAA player of the year for the Purdue Boilermakers and entering his senior season this fall. The 21-year-old is also a member of the senior Canadian men's national team, which begins second-round play at the World Cup on Friday.

Despite playing just 19 minutes through three games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Edey has totalled 14 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting. On one of his very first plays, he stood tall and blocked a probing French guard in the paint, prompting Sportsnet announcer Dan Shulman to exclaim "you can't teach seven-foot-four."

Ironically, however, Edey has flown under the radar for most of his life. Despite his NCAA success, he's mostly projected as a second-round NBA pick due to concerns about his foot speed in a league now dominated by guards.

Two years ago, he was the final cut from Team Canada at the last-chance Olympic qualifier in Victoria. Meanwhile, Czech centre Ondrej Balvin dominated with 19 rebounds as Canada was upset on home court.

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Edey was first discovered within the basketball community by a 12 year old. On orders from his mom, Ethan Massiah approached