The Purdue Boilermakers came into the 2017-18 season with four senior starters, but one giant question: How would they replace the Big Ten Player of the Year, National Player of the Year Finalist, and All-American sophomore Caleb Swanigan who was drafted 26th in the first round of the NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.
The answer was matching those four seniors with another All-American sophomore, guard Carsen Edwards. He was named a second-team All-American by USA Today and third-team by The Sporting News. He won one National Player of the Week honor by scoring 27 points against Penn State and following it up with a career-high 40 points against Illinois on February 22nd.