Purdue Sophomore Carsen Edwards Impresses In U19 World Cup

This month Purdue guard Carsen Edwards got some quality experience participating in the U-19 World Championships in Egypt. The sophomore was named a finalist for the U-19 team earlier in the summer and was selected as one of the 12 team members for the John Calipari coached team.

Edwards became the second recent Boilermaker to play on the U-19 team, with former Purdue standout Caleb Swanigan participating in 2015. While Team USA had won gold the past two times participating, this year’s squad had to settle for the bronze after losing to Canada in the semifinals. They did bounce back in the third place game, though, beating Spain 96 to 72 as Edwards led the team in scoring with 13 points.

It was a relatively impressive run for Edwards, who averaged 10.4 points and 3.3 assists in around 22 minutes per game throughout the seven game tournament. He also shot a solid 41.4% from three and was a key part to Team USA’s success.

“Edwards was the one guy that went in and changed the game because of his intensity...he was dragging people with him,” Calipari said.

Anyone who watched Purdue basketball this past season is well aware about the intensity Edwards brings to the floor and it didn’t take long for others to notice. Edwards, who wasn’t expected to make the final roster according to some people, took advantage of his opportunity and had a solid showing in Egypt.

“I just tried to come in and defend and make sure not to let my man score. But just bringing a spark off the bench was mainly what I was trying to do,” Edwards said to USAB.com.

The sophomore guard also had several highlights during the seven game run:

As for what’s next for Edwards, he’ll be heading overseas once again in August as Purdue will represent Team USA as the National Team in the World University Games. Pool play will kick off August 20th with Purdue set to play five games over six days. After that the top two teams from each pool will participate in the medal round, with three rounds set for the 27th, 28th and 29th.

Edwards is hoping to make the sophomore leap that Purdue saw with Caleb Swanigan this past season. His freshman season was definitely a success, averaging 10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in around 23 minutes an outing. Now Edwards will look to continue to develop and help a Purdue team that returns enough talent that they should once again compete towards the top of the Big Ten in 2017-18.

If Edwards early summer is any indication, it seems he’s reading to make the leap this winter.