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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 27 At the end of last season, the whole rep- ertoire was on display, as Edwards closed the season playing consistently at the level he played at in Minneapolis. He was aggres- sive driving to the basket, decisive with the ball in his hands and, simply, comfortable, or so he appeared. The latter point was especially meaning- ful, because it seemed to take him some time — like, half the season — to pinpoint his niche for Purdue, a team defined by its towering size that generally played accord- ingly. "It's not that I wasn't comfortable, just that I would just let my confidence drop off, and I can't let that happen this year," Edwards said. "I have to work on that this year, because I can't just hang in the shadows this year. I am one of those guys as a junior that has to step up and be a leader of this team." It may sound simple, but Edwards keeps coming back to same story: When he's confident, he's good. When he's not, he blends in. And he's too good to blend in. "I've always had it in me, but I don't think my con- fidence level has always been as high as it's needed to be, and I think that's one thing that I want to work on this year," Edwards said. "I want to have my confidence up, because when my confidence is up I feel like I am one of the best players on the floor, just being myself." Now, Edwards has every reason to be confident, fin- ishing last season on a run of eight consecutive dou- ble-digit scoring games, a stretch of games in which he played like a leading scorer. He'll contend for that distinction this season, but is needed to produce at both ends of the floor more than he's ever been. With Davis gone, Matt Painter says he's going to need Edwards to improve defensively to the point he can be trusted against the most difficult wing match- ups Purdue encounters. The Boilermakers are recreat- ing themselves defensively, and need their best play- ers to be part of the solution. "I always tell guys that have a chance to play profes- sionally, 'You don't just need to be a pro offensively, but a pro defensive player, too," Painter said. "For Vince, that's something that we have worked at lot with him on, where we're really going to need him to make that step as a defensive player because he is going to be getting some big-time assignments from a position standpoint. It is going to a challenge for him and he is excited for it." Ask Edwards about his defensive play to this point and you get something close to a figurative shrug of the shoulder as if to just suggest, "Some good, some bad." Should Edwards prove himself as more of a defen- sive presence, it would make a complete offensive player more of a complete overall player and represent an important step for his future. After his athletic transformation last off-season, Edwards came into focus as a viable NBA prospect, though at this point, he may not be the most explosive or physical prospect for a league in which he'd have to play the 3, maybe even the 2. Last spring, Edwards took advantage of the NCAA's new allowances for underclassmen to go through the draft exploration process in a deeper, more meaning- ful way, worked out for several teams and came away with the message: "Keep working." He has, with big goals in mind, for himself long- term and his team short-term. "This year I have to pull more out of myself," he said. "I have to expect more out of myself. My biggest thing this year is that confidence can't go anywhere." j