When dinosaurs roamed the earth, professional basketball was a different game. Wilt Chamberlain dominated and Bill Russell and Nate Thurmond followed the original big-man star in George Mikan.

There was a definite job description for the 6-foot-10 or 7-foot man roaming the low post. Being bigger than everyone else on the court was a requirement for a center.

Freedman

Since the advent of the three-point shot in the 1980s, some of the glow has come off the brontosaurus, the guy who could intimidate, and whose shooting range is inside 10 feet from the hoop.

Life has certainly become better for the 6-foot-5 intermediate man, who can run, jump disproportionately well for his size and critically, shoot brilliantly from afar.

They command most of the attention, until someone comes along who is old-school, who can perform the lost arts skills that were once so coveted in a player of size. There are still a few such individuals around. Often, rather than being exalted for what they bring to college basketball, they are surrounded by doubters and naysayers.

Exhibit A is Purdue’s Zach Edey. A senior who has carried the Boilermakers to the Final Four, Edey is someone who cannot be covered by even the best teams’ defenses, not by one Tyrannosaurus Rex at a time, at least.

He is 7-foot-4 and weighs 300 pounds and once Edey establishes position in the paint he is as immovable as a brick wall without the benefit of dynamite. Those who suggest his is an outmoded style and he will not succeed in the NBA have not been watching.

Edey, who is Canadian, was not awarded Player of the Year awards last season simply because he is tall. Nor is he winning the same awards this year solely because he is a skyscraper.

This year, as Purdue won 33 games and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1980, Edey has averaged 25 points and 12.2 rebounds a game, while averaging two assists per ballgame on his passes from down low when he is double-teamed. He shoots more than 62 percent from the floor.

Although Edey’s range is generally only an arm’s length from the hoop, the aim of the game is to put the ball in the bucket. The more often you do that, the more likely your team is to win.

We have heard similar sarcasm before – and recently – in Indiana. Call Trayce Jackson-Davis Exhibit B. While turning in spectacular efforts for the Hoosiers last winter, critics routinely said he would never make it in the pros because he did not shoot three-pointers from the field during an era when everyone else did.

Indeed, it was rumored Jackson-Davis was not going to return to Bloomington to compete his senior year, but then it was said he came back to work on his game and develop an outside shot. That never happened. What Jackson-Davis did was burn all defenders inside with superior moves and footwork. There never was a reason for him to bother with long-distance shots.

As a senior during the 2022-23 season, Jackson-Davis averaged 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4 assists a game for IU. He was recognized as an All-American.

Ultimately, Jackson-Davis was drafted in the second round by the Golden State Warriors. During the early days of the 2023-24 season, he was sparingly used, coming off the bench for only limited stretches. However, as the season progressed, Jackson-Davis gained more opportunities from coach Steve Kerr and began excelling. Frequently, he scored double figures in games and at 6-9 gathered more than his share of rebounds. He is now averaging 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the year and he still does not shoot three-pointers.

Exhibit C, speaking of runs to the current Final Four, the University of Connecticut center Donovan Clingan has been the Huskies’ man in the middle. The 7-2, 280-pound sophomore averages 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds. He is the next Edey in almost every way.

It took Edey until junior year to emerge as a force. Clingan is on the same pace, with many of the same attributes. Clingan, surrounded by considerable talent, will likely break out even more noticeably next winter.

Recently, Edey, the top player in the Big Ten Conference the last two seasons, as his bridge to becoming the best player in the NCAA, said going back to high school days he has felt slighted as someone underestimated.

Certainly, he has worked hard, with wise tutoring from Boilermaker coach Matt Painter, and improved steadily. Edey has proven himself many times over, and next year, with Clingan moving to stake his own flag of ownership in the collegiate low post, Edey will be negotiating his transition to the NBA.