NBA Draft Profile: Carsen Edwards

Name: Carsen Edwards

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6’, 200 Pounds

NBA Mock Drafts: Mid to Late First Round

NBA Comparison: Quinn Cook (Golden State Warriors) Frank Mason (Sacramento Kings) Shabazz Napier (Portland Trailblazers)

Strengths:

• Scoring

Carsen scored at a remarkable clip at Purdue, there is no denying that. Everyone just decided to notice during the NCAA Tournament when he was literally on fire. He walked into a building and was on fire, one fan said. Carsen averaged over 24 Points per game during his junior season at Purdue, making shots from so deep no one thought was possible.

He isn’t just a deep threat though. He loves to attack downhill off of a high screen and get to the rim for a potential poster. Carsen is a shot maker and a shot creator. These are harder to come by these days. Sure, he was our lone volume scorer last season, but he scored at such an incredible clip there is no denying it.

For his career, he shot just over 40% from the field and 36% from three. While those will need to be right at or stay higher for he to be productive in the league, it is definitely feasible to think that he could be the score first guard coming off the bench. Did you see Quinn Cook last night? Klay goes down and he comes in and makes three big shots. Steph said after the game that Quinn may be the most confident player on the roster, no matter the amount of playing time he gets, when he comes in he is ready. I could definitely see Carsen having that same mentality.

• Basketball IQ

Carsen is a savvy basketball player. To me, staying three years in college and learning from the College Basketball Coach of the Year, Matt Painter will pay off for him in the league. The NBA doesn’t deal with “Dumb” players, that is, players who do not have a high basketball IQ. You see freshman that will leave after a year and fizzle out in the league for not understanding parts of the game. That will not be a problem with Carsen, he has three years of experience in the best college basketball conference in America with one of the best college coaches in America.

• Strength

Lets not beat around the bush here, Carsen is built like a brick shit house. While he is 6’ tall without shoes, he has a 6’6” wing span that helps make up for the lack of height. With that stout frame, he has built his body into looking like a NFL running back or corner back. He is strong as hell. He got through defenders that had 4 or 5 inches on him in height with his strength, whether it be brushing them off as they tried to defend him or attack through their body and getting to the rim.

• Speed

Carsen is one of the fastest players in this draft. We saw it all year on the way he came off screens to curl to the bucket or pop out to three point line. It was even more evident when he was in the NBA Draft Combine he posted some of the fastest agility times.

• Durability

Carsen started every single game as a sophomore and junior. There were times where he was banged up, but he played his way thru it. For example, this year with his bad back. We didn’t even know about it until he was visibly limping. Carsen has built himself into someone who will not miss many games and will be there night in and night out.

Weaknesses:

• Height

Obviously this is his biggest flaw, he is more of a shooting guard than a point guard. He is a score first guy too. If he was 6’5” or taller he would be a top 5 pick.

• Streaky

He is hot for times, like the NCAA tournament where he couldn’t miss a damn shot. Then at other times he will go ice cold. More often than not last year he was En FUEGO!

• Defense

Carsen is strong as hell, but his defense was suspect at times last season. But, the fact he had to give so much on the offensive end may have played a major role in that as well. In the NBA, people claim there is no defense that is played. I adamantly disagree with that statement. I just think the players on offense are so skilled. Who will he guard? If he is on the court at the same time as a point guard then the 2nd team will struggle to defend due to the size difference.

Either way, I believe Carsen will make an impact in the league. Be ready to hear his name early in the draft.