Analysis ($): Carsen Edwards' departure
Carsen Edwards' All-America Purdue career is over, as he announced Sunday that he'll enter the NBA draft with an agent, forsaking the flexibility to return to the Boilermakers for his senior season.
Fresh off starring in the NCAA Tournament, Edwards earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season after averaging 24.3 points per game and helping Purdue to a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
In the NCAA Tournament, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged just under 35 points per game in leading the Boilermakers to their first Elite Eight since 2000. There, despite Edwards' second 42-point game in four outings, Purdue came within a second of its first Final Four since 1980, before falling to South Region No. 1 seed Virginia in overtime.
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Last spring, Edwards went through the draft process, participated at the draft combine in Chicago and worked out for the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, then opted to return for his junior season. A year ago, consensus opinion seemed to be Edwards would have gone in the late second round or gone undrafted.
Now, he enters the process having enhanced his profile by starring in the NCAA Tournament and leading his team to a surprisingly successful season, perceived by some analysts as a potential late first-round pick.
Edwards becomes the second Boilermaker in three years to do so early, joining fellow All-American Caleb Swanigan, who left after his sophomore season in 2017.
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