Kentucky players paid a lot of attention to Georgia freshman Anthony Edwards last year. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Veteran ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas could make a case for either guard Anthony Edwards or forward James Wiseman going No. 1 in the NBA draft. Both are players Kentucky heavily recruited before Edwards picked Georgia and Wiseman chose Memphis — where he only played a few games before leaving school due to NCAA questions about his eligibility.
“I think Anthony Edwards is the most talented player, especially when you factor in his superior athleticism. But every player has a question mark. If this group were 5-10 years ago I would have said, James Wiseman and I wouldn’t have hesitated, because Wiseman is like a 7-1, Chris Bosh type-player,” Bilas said.
“And I think he’s going to be able to stretch his range out to the NBA 3-point range and with his mobility and the way he can run and the kind of talent he is, his size would have made a huge difference.
“But the game’s changed, so I would say Edwards, although he has some question marks. Edwards, he should be an outstanding defender and he has not been because he doesn’t do it all the time but talent wise I have him at the top of the heap.”
Georgia coach Tom Crean has sounded a lot like Kentucky coach John Calipari warning teams they will be sorry if they pass on Edwards.
“I do agree with Tom that he is a unique talent. You just don’t find players that have that kind of frame, that kind of athleticism and that kind of skill – all combined,” Bilas said. “I think that the issue with Edwards is one of sort of understanding of the game and maturity in the game. And I don’t mean that in a negative way.
“I just mean that you know he’s got so many options with his skill level, he tends to settle for the jump shot too often. He’s a freight train if he put the ball on the deck more often and would attack the rim. They’d have to follow him, and he would have spent a lot more time at the free throw line.”
Edwards shot only about 40 percent from the field his freshman season at Georgia and only 30 percent from 3-point range. But Bilas noted he made a better percentage of contested shots.
“He’s got the ability to be a game changing defender because of his length and athleticism. And when he sits down in a stance and he’s really engaged. He makes plays defensively,” Bilas said. “Tom Crean has coach Victor Oladipo and Dwyane Wade, he’s had top talents and from what he’s told me, and what I’ve seen, he puts he puts Edwards right with those two guys and a little bit above them. Like he’s got a high work rate.
“He’s good with his teammates, he takes constructive criticism. I really liked him but he still has some maturing to do, which we should expect out of a 19-year-old, but for some reason we seem collectively to have stopped. We’re expecting more finished products and he’s not near that. But he’s got every tool that you want in a player.”
