2. Carsen Edwards, Purdue
No player did more to boost his draft stock in the NCAA Tournament than Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, who shot himself into first round consideration with a red-hot run through March Madness. In four tournament games, Edwards averaged 34.8 points a night, nearly carrying the Boilermakers to the Final Four in the process.
Following that epic March performance, Edwards declared for the NBA Draft, but he hasn’t seen his stock rise much above the late first round. There are a few reasons for that, but the biggest one concerns his size.
Edwards is only six-feet tall, which makes him a very undersized point guard for the modern NBA. There are also concerns about Edwards’ defense, which was admittedly not great at Purdue, but a 6’6″ wingspan should help him fare better than people think based on his reputation.
The one thing that can’t be denied is that when Edwards gets hot he can score points in bunches, which makes him a very intriguing prospect. Edwards, unlike a lot of players in this draft, has shown the ability to put his team on his back for significant stretches of a game.
At the beginning of his career, Edwards’ best fit is probably as a sixth man on a good team, where he can provide instant offense off the bench. Don’t be shocked if a team like Milwaukee or Golden State takes a shot at Edwards late in the first round and has a steal on their hands.