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Justin Edwards averaged 7.7 points and shot 44 percent from the field in Kentucky’s first 20 games. He saw his role and playing time decrease and one had to wonder if he would be a major factor for Kentucky in postseason play.
Yet Edwards might be the biggest plus factor for Kentucky going into postseason play that starts Friday night in Nashville in the SEC Tournament.
In the last 10 games, he’s averaging 11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 assists per game in basically the same amount of playing time he had in the first 20 games. He’s shooting 61.5 percent overall from the field and 55.2 percent from 3 compared to 28 percent in the first 20 games.
He had 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting overall, 4-for-7 from 3, along with six rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes in UK’s impressive win at Tennessee Saturday.
“Justin, I’m really happy for him,” sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso saidWednesday. “I also think that this (SEC) tournament is also gonna be a great platform for him to show more. Just things he can do.”
Onyenso said a more confident Edwards has made Kentucky better.
“I don’t think we would have won that game (at Tennessee) if it wasn’t for him, to be honest. We need him in this tournament,” the sophomore center said.
Edwards doesn’t have to be great on a team with Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and D.J. Wagner. He just has to be good and a reliable scorer when he has opportunities and that is what he has been doing.
“That’s also another person teams have to worry about that’s capable of going off for 30 (points),” sophomore Adou Thiero said. “It’s self-explanatory right there, got a lot of weapons and teams gotta be careful who they pick to guard because you’re not gonna be able to guard everybody.”
And when that happens, Reeves, Sheppard and Dillingham are almost unstoppable it seems. Edwards’ recent play has made a really good Kentucky offense even better.
“I’m not gonna say it’s surprising, but we’re happy that we’re breaking through at this time of year. We’re happy that this is the time of year we’re really breaking through,” Onyenso said. “We need everybody on the team, Jordan (Burks), even Joey (Hart). We need everybody on the team.
“And I’m happy that we have a full roster to go with and everybody is really breaking through at this time of year.”
But nobody has broken through in a bigger way the last 10 games than Edwards.
9 Responses
Edwards can be very good when he plays with intensity and aggression. He grab some big rebounds against Tennessee and hit some big shots. His scoring is a great asset, but I truly believe it’s the other things that help the team even more. Things like rebounding, defense, passing, etc. UK can get points from a lot of others, but the little things will set him apart and make him much more valuable. He is getting better with every game.
He has finally lived up to all the hype I’ve always heard about and it couldn’t come at a better time. Let’s gooooo
King Cal stuck with him.
Maybe it’ll pay off when it counts the most.
Also need to get Mitchell playing the way he was before his injuries.
Agree there Larry….still wondering if more mental than physical at this point. We have had some guys lay out for possibly soft injuries. Hope not the case with Tre.
This injury happened before our eyes and we’re lucky he wasn’t out longer.
Unlike some in the past, I don’t think he’s faking it. He really wants to play.
Tre was dealing with back problem long before it got worse. His parents advised him to rest in order to heal the problem. This wasn’t all on Cal.
It was good advice that might help us win a Championship.
Once again Cal proves he is smarter than the average smuck.