Carsen Edwards went through the NBA draft combine and multiple workouts before deciding to return for his junior season at Purdue.
The Boilermakers are sure happy he did after losing four seniors and most of their scoring.
The prolific guard was the leading vote-getter in the Associated Press preseason men's All-America team released Tuesday, appearing on 63 of 65 ballots from a national media panel. Edwards was joined by North Carolina forward Luke Maye, Duke freshman R.J. Barrett, Kansas big man Dedric Lawson, Nevada's Caleb Martin and Wisconsin's Ethan Happ.
The 6-foot-1 Edwards was third-team All-America last season after averaging 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He's expected to play a bigger role as the leader and go-to player on a young team.
Edwards is Purdue's first preseason AP All-America since JaJuan Johnson in 2010-11.
Like Edwards, Maye was a third-team All-America who entered his name into the draft before withdrawing. Last season, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three-point range.
Maye hit the shot that beat Kentucky to send the Tar Heels to the Final Four as a sophomore during their 2017 title run.
Barrett arrived at Duke as the marquee player in coach Mike Krzyzewski's latest stellar recruiting class. An athletic 6-7 forward from Canada, he was widely regarded as the top recruit in the 2018 class and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NBA draft.
