CHICAGO — Coming off an All-America sophomore season, Purdue's Carsen Edwards has been named the Big Ten's preseason Player-of-the-Year, the league announced Thursday morning in advance of its media day at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.
The honor is another in the litany of such acclaim the high-scoring guard has drawn this off-season, as he's been named a preseason All-American by several outlets and national preseason player-of-the-year by at least one.
As a sophomore, the NABC named him to its second-team All-America list.
Perhaps most notably, Edwards won the Jerry West Award, given annually to the nation's premier shooting guard.
In his second year as a Boilermaker, Edwards played that role well for a senior-laden Purdue team, averaging a team-best 18-and-a-half points, connecting on 97 three-pointers and adding an element of explosiveness that complemented its size and skill elsewhere nicely.
Things change now for Edwards as the complexion around him does.
Gone are four mainstay seniors. Returning is a roster from which only Edwards can be counted as a true returning starter, a roster that adds a half dozen newcomers, whether they be transfers, freshmen coming out of redshirt or freshmen coming out of high school.
Edwards declared for the NBA draft in the spring and participated in the draft combine, but opted to return for a junior season, after which he's believed to stand a solid chance to be a first-round pick next summer should he depart.
Stay tuned throughout the day for more coverage from Big Ten media day.
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