Player Review: Carsen Edwards

Name: Carsen Edwards

Class: Freshman

Grade: B

Stats: 10.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 23 MPG

He is our lone true freshman this year. Many did not know what to expect from him coming in. ESPN rated him the 88th best player nationally, a 4 star recruit. He jumped from a 3 star to a 4 star late in his high school playing career.

He is a guard unlike anyone else we have on the team. He is explosive, fast, has a swagger to him and can take any guard one on one offensively or defensively. He is going to be fun to watch for three more years.

He exploded on to the scene with a great trip to Spain over the summer, where he averaged around 17 points per game, leading the team in scoring while over seas.

We had a saying in the Hammer and Rails group chat the entire season. “Carsen giveth and Carsen taketh”. For the majority of the season, he gave us great energy, either starting or coming off of the bench. For a freshman, to come in an start any games is a big deal. It wasn’t until late this season when Coach Painter wanted to change the lineup a little, where he inserted Ryan Cline.

He could be really good or really shaky at times. I was leaning more towards a B+ or A-, but the end of the year, where he had some bad turnovers which forced Coach Painter to sit him for lengthy amounts of time, I settled in on a B.

There were a lot of times where the shot selection was also shaky. He took some dumb shots. The thing is, sometimes I would cringe when he would take a shot and a lot of the times, he would make the shot, it was amazing.

Carsen is explosive. I would assume he starts next year at the 2 spot, next to PJ Thompson, having two point guards on the floor will be beneficial in pushing the ball in up-tempo situations.

I really like Carsen a lot. With scoring 10 points per game as a freshman speaks volumes of his ability. You can also tell that Coach Painter knows that he is so good that he just lets him play, there isn’t much restriction to him. He is kind of similar to Ronnie Johnson in a speed standpoint, but he has a jump shot that is just so much prettier.

Our back court next season could be scary good, Carsen will play a large part in that, look for him to be much more effective in decision making, as well as scoring. They both should improve.

Thanks for a great season, Carsen. Boiler Up!