Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/592932
42 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED I needed to prep for. I knew what I needed to work for. I knew how I needed to improve myself to get stronger and get better, improve my game overall to help my team out. "I've been a hard worker, but I think this is the hard- est I've worked in awhile. This has just been an out- standing work ethic I've had from the end of the sea- son until now. I really turned a new leaf as far as me working hard. This is by far the hardest I've worked. I just feel like the results will show, whether that shows in wins or whatever that may be. I'll just let the results do all the talking and hopefully my work ethic has paid off." To be clear, Edwards had a pretty good base to work with. What Edwards apparently forgot — or didn't care to focus on — from that NCAA game? He had 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, the first player in Purdue's history to reach those levels in a postseason game, according to Purdue. That game was such an accurate picture of the sen- sational freshman season he had, how he'd shown such versatility and ability to affect games in nearly every sense. His 90 assists on the season led the team — only by one more than point guard Jon Octeus, but still. It was the most assists in a season by a non-guard in program history. He gained a reputation for being a terror on the of- fensive glass, cherishing the opportunity to crash and get easy putbacks. Of his 159 rebounds — his 4.8 per- game average was third on the team — 64 came on offense. Michigan coach John Beilein called Edwards "one of the best offensive rebounders anywhere right now" after Edwards got three of his six rebounds on offense in a 64-51 victory in January at Mackey. He showed an ability to score in a variety of ways, taking advantage of matchups against smaller play- ers and taking them immediately to the post to work with his back to the basket and was good enough in his mid-range and perimeter jump-shooting to score that way, too. His 8.8 points-per-game average includ- ed 10 double-digit scoring games, including a 25-point game on 7-of-9 shooting and 8-of-9 effort from the line against BYU. The latter number was perhaps the most impressive — Edwards shot a team-high 79 percent on free throws, an area Purdue desperately needed an uptick in production. The basketball IQ and savvy may be harder to mea- sure, but Edwards showcased that, too, in the way he operated as a rookie, keeping his turnovers low — only one every 17.8 minutes — and seemingly deliver- ing on assignments consistently. He took four charges. "I would say I had a good season. It wasn't great, but I feel like I could have done a lot better," Edwards said. "But for me coming into this experience as a fresh- man and coming into the Big Ten, as physical as it is, I think I handled it pretty well as a freshman. But I feel like there were parts where I could have improved or stretched out even more and I felt like I didn't give all of my effort. But you always criticize yourself and think you can do better." He was good enough to earn a summer tryout with USA Basketball in Colorado Springs, another event that helped label the offseason as a productive one. But Edwards knows he's not done quite yet. There are challenges to learning to play more on the wing. Painter says Edwards needs to "morph into a guard" and have that mentality even while playing the 4, which Edwards still will do on occasion. Painter wants Edwards to play better off the bounce offensively and be more attune to doing the "little things" on defense. Bill Edwards Sr. agrees with the latter, which is why he spent time with Vince this summer teaching him defensive angles so he can better defend quicker guards. "I think the next key step for him is his defensive footwork and his ballhandling," Bill Edwards said. "I told him if he doesn't want to be a 4 for the rest of his career in the Big Ten, he really has to develop that consistent outside shot and his ballhandling, which I think he has done. He needs to continue to improve as he continues to work. "The thing about Vincent is he has a high ceiling. He has the body and has the frame. He has the skills.