WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue All-American guard Carsen Edwards has announced that he will declare for the 2019 NBA Draft and will hire an agent, thus ending one of the great careers in Purdue Basketball history.
Edwards posted on his personal Instagram and Twitter accounts his intentions of declaring for the draft with the following post:
I want to start off by thanking God every day for blessing me with this journey. There have been highs and there have been lows, but through everything, God has been the constant.
I want to thank my family for being my rock. Without them, I wouldn’t be in the position I am. People that know me, know my family is everything. I thank them every day for their love and support.
Lastly, I want to thank my teammates, the support staff, the coaches and mostly Coach Painter for everything they have done for me. The last three years have been an amazing ride with the best teammates and coaches in the country. I wouldn’t trade my time and successes at Purdue for anything.
For as long as I can remember, it has been a dream to play in the NBA. I feel that the time is now. I will be entering the 2019 NBA Draft with an agent. This is the beginning of a new journey and am thankful for everyone’s support and I’m ready for the next chapter in my life.
BOILER UP!
The two-time All-American leaves Purdue as the school’s seventh all-time leading scorer (1,920 points), the most points scored by a Big Ten player through his junior year in league history. He is Purdue’s career leader in 3-point field goals (281) and became the just the second player nationally since the 1992-93 season with 850 points, 130 3-pointers, 100 assists and 40 steals (Davidson’s Stephen Curry twice) in the same season.
Edwards was at his best in the NCAA Tournament, averaging a jaw-dropping 34.8 points per game, scoring 42 points against both Villanova and Virginia. He set an NCAA Tournament record by making 28 3-pointers in the four games, including a school-record 10 triples against top-seeded Virginia in the South Regional finals. He became the first player since Davidson’s Stephen Curry in 2008 to be named the Most Outstanding Player of a regional from a losing team.
Edwards, who is one of five finalists for the Jerry West Award which honors the nation’s top shooting guard, finished the season with a 24.3 scoring average, the most for a Big Ten player since Michigan State’s Shawn Respert in 1994 (25.6 PPG).