When Purdue signed Carsen Edwards, it figured it signed a good player.
In hindsight, it might have sold its only 2016 freshman signee short.
It might turn out that Purdue signed a great one.
That's been the feeling from his first day in West Lafayette, and the Carsen Edwards coaches and players saw all summer has begun to emerge for everyone else to see.
I know it was just Morehead State, but his 16-point, five-assist game coupled with his fiery shooting to open the game were just part of a larger trend. The freshman's trajectory is pointed distinctly upward. This three games now of the past four in which he's scored at least 16 points.
He's had his ups and downs against the best teams on Purdue's schedule to date, but in others, he's looked like a player who's taken to college basketball relatively seamlessly, all things considered, at both ends of the floor.
Purdue coveted Spike Albrecht when he came available in part because it didn't want to have to try Edwards by fire too quickly in his career. There's a daunting transition for any freshman, particularly those who handle the ball a lot, and Purdue would have preferred to let him ease into things.
Edwards has basically said "no thanks" as he's kept turning question marks into exclamation points. For a player whose learning curve was bound to be extreme due to his ultra-aggressive nature combined with the infrastructure around him, he's mostly picked his spots well and made decent decisions.
For a player who was tasked with the demands of the detail that comes with college defense, he's impacted Purdue at that end of the floor.
Make no mistake: Edwards is not a finished product. But he seems to be learning from mistakes and he is clearly listening, which is crucial.
He is well on schedule, though, maybe ahead of it. He's the second-most talented guard Painter's signed, I think we can agree, and already starting to live up.
He's made Purdue different. For the thousandth time, the things he gives Purdue, Purdue does not otherwise have. He's made Purdue better.
Now, his role expands "indefinitely." With Spike Albrecht sidelined for however long, Edwards gets the ball in his hands more. Purdue can only hope Edwards wears point guard minutes as well as Caleb Swanigan wears center minutes.
Edwards has been terrific - in context - for Purdue this season.
Now, he's even more important.
In hindsight, it might have sold its only 2016 freshman signee short.
It might turn out that Purdue signed a great one.
That's been the feeling from his first day in West Lafayette, and the Carsen Edwards coaches and players saw all summer has begun to emerge for everyone else to see.
I know it was just Morehead State, but his 16-point, five-assist game coupled with his fiery shooting to open the game were just part of a larger trend. The freshman's trajectory is pointed distinctly upward. This three games now of the past four in which he's scored at least 16 points.
He's had his ups and downs against the best teams on Purdue's schedule to date, but in others, he's looked like a player who's taken to college basketball relatively seamlessly, all things considered, at both ends of the floor.
Purdue coveted Spike Albrecht when he came available in part because it didn't want to have to try Edwards by fire too quickly in his career. There's a daunting transition for any freshman, particularly those who handle the ball a lot, and Purdue would have preferred to let him ease into things.
Edwards has basically said "no thanks" as he's kept turning question marks into exclamation points. For a player whose learning curve was bound to be extreme due to his ultra-aggressive nature combined with the infrastructure around him, he's mostly picked his spots well and made decent decisions.
For a player who was tasked with the demands of the detail that comes with college defense, he's impacted Purdue at that end of the floor.
Make no mistake: Edwards is not a finished product. But he seems to be learning from mistakes and he is clearly listening, which is crucial.
He is well on schedule, though, maybe ahead of it. He's the second-most talented guard Painter's signed, I think we can agree, and already starting to live up.
He's made Purdue different. For the thousandth time, the things he gives Purdue, Purdue does not otherwise have. He's made Purdue better.
Now, his role expands "indefinitely." With Spike Albrecht sidelined for however long, Edwards gets the ball in his hands more. Purdue can only hope Edwards wears point guard minutes as well as Caleb Swanigan wears center minutes.
Edwards has been terrific - in context - for Purdue this season.
Now, he's even more important.
