Purdue Basketball: Carsen Edwards named All-American

It’s that time of year for College Basketball fans. As the rest of the country settles into their conference tournaments, Purdue has the week off, but it’s also the time for end of the year honors and Carsen Edwards is having a busy Monday.

After being named as a Wooden Award finalist today, he’s adding something else to his resume: All-American.

USA Today named Edwards to their second-team All-American. The Sporting News (1 of 4 organizations used to calculate the consensus All-America teams) has him on their 3rd team.

The sophomore guard from Texas is averaging 18.5 points a game, 3.9 rebounds, 3 assists, and more than a steal a game in just under 30 minutes a game. He shooting .466% from the field and .412 from three while attempting more than 6 a game and 81% from the free throw line.

After a freshman year that showed Edward’s ability to change a game with his speed, he has put it all together in his sophomore year, and gotten better as the year has gone along. He’s led the Big Ten in scoring since Feb. 1st, averaging 22.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game during the 10-game stretch. He’s scored in double-figures in 17 straight games going back to January 9th against Michigan. In six of those last ten games he has scored at least 20 points, including a career-high 40 points at Illinois on Feb. 22nd.

Carsen’s sophomore season has been one of the best in Purdue’s history. He ranks fourth on the sophomore single-season points list with 628 points and needs just 12 points to become the seventh Boilermaker with 1,000 points in his first two seasons. He was named a unanimous All-Big Ten selection by the Associated Press, a first team All-Big Ten selection by coaches and media, two-time Big Ten player of the week, and USBWA and NCAA.com National Player of the Week. He’s a finalist for the Jerry West ward given to the nation’s top shooting guard. After averaging 21.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3 assists in New York City for the Big Ten Tournament he was named to the tournament’s All-Tournament team.

But maybe past the numbers, the incredible accomplishments, it is this image that Purdue’s SID Chris Foreman confirmed on twitter that says everything about Edwards’ season and mark on the program.

When you look up in the rafters in Mackey Arena, you’ll forever see the #3.

All-American.