Purdue Basketball: Vince Edwards returns for his senior year

After testing the draft waters, Vince Edwards decided that he would return to West Lafayette for his senior season to play with another talented Purdue roster.

Caleb Swanigan’s decision to remain in the NBA Draft likely overshadowed the decision by Vince Edwards to return to Purdue, but this decision is definitely worth noting. Edwards will once again start for head coach Matt Painter and will be a difference maker on the team coming off a four seed and a regular season Big Ten title.

Edwards worked out for the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the New Orleans Pelicans, but it was expected that he would be a second round selection at best. Given that, he decided to come back for his last season. In each of the last two seasons, Edwards has tested the draft waters before coming back, but this will be his last year as a Boilermaker coming up.

A season ago, Edwards averaged 12.6 points per game and was lethal from behind the arc. Shooting at a 42.3% clip, he was definitely a guy that you would not want to leave open on the floor. He also flashed his all-around play by securing 4.9 rebounds per game and dishing out 3.2 assists.

Pairing up with Isaac Haas and the rest of the returning crew, Purdue will be very strong in 2017-18. It will obviously be a tough loss to not have Caleb Swanigan on the roster, but the Boilermakers should be able to make the NCAA Tournament and having a competitive Big Ten roster.

Next: Expectations from Duke's recruiting class

There will be a lot of question marks surrounding how Purdue will respond to playing without Swanigan, but having Vince Edwards back on the roster will help with stability and that transition to playing without their star big man.