Kentucky and an SEC rival set to battle in recruitment of five-star forward Justin Edwards
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UK basketball recruiting updates
Ben Roberts and Cameron Drummond of the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com are producing several stories and videos analyzing last weekend’s Nike EYBL basketball recruiting showcase in Louisville. Click below to access all of their coverage this week.
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The recruitment of five-star small forward Justin Edwards, one of the top college basketball prospects in the class of 2023, is set to come down to Kentucky and its bitterest SEC rival, Tennessee.
Edwards, from Philadelphia, plays for Imhotep Institute (a public charter high school) in Philadelphia and for Team Final in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL).
Last weekend’s Nike EYBL session in Louisville at the Kentucky Expo Center marked a chance for Wildcats fans to get a look at Edwards, who is yet to set a college commitment date.
College coaches were not permitted to attend the Nike EYBL Louisville session since it didn’t fall under one of the NCAA’s approved evaluation periods.
In the most recent prospect rankings by 247Sports, the 6-foot-7 Edwards was moved up to the No. 3 national recruit in the class of 2023.
A five-star recruit, Edwards is slotted at No. 6 in the country in his class in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
After his first game of the Louisville session on Saturday, Edwards told the Herald-Leader he doesn’t pay attention to recruiting rankings, despite his placement in them.
“It’s good that they’re recognizing me, but it doesn’t define who am I as a player,” Edwards said.
Whether he needed to or not, Edwards defended the move up the rankings with impressive showings during the EYBL’s stop in the commonwealth.
During the five-game Nike EYBL session in Louisville, Edwards averaged 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
This included a 26-point, six-rebound showing on Saturday night in which Edwards shot 11-of-14 from the field and didn’t commit a turnover in 26 minutes of playing time.
“He might be the most well-rounded prospect in the entire 2023 class . . . very skilled, polished, scores the basketball. He’s also a good passer,” 247Sports analyst Travis Branham told the Herald-Leader. “(He) does a good job of letting the game come to him.”
When it comes to his recruitment, Edwards released a top-seven list in late April that included Auburn, Kansas, Maryland, Villanova and the G League Ignite professional path, in addition to Kentucky and Tennessee.
Edwards holds scholarship offers from both UK and Tennessee, and has also taken official visits to both schools.
His official visit to Lexington came last November, the same day as a UK home win over Ohio. His official visit to Knoxville came in March.
So what does Edwards like about the UK program?
“He’s a good guy,” Edwards said of UK head coach John Calipari. “They have a historical program, they get the job done.”
Edwards is mainly in contact with Calipari and assistant coach Orlando Antigua from the Cats. Their pitch to Edwards is to bring him to Lexington and help make him one of the “great players to come from Kentucky,” Edwards said.
This kind of potential was highlighted by Edwards during his junior year high school season.
He was named a 2021-22 second-team junior All-American by MaxPreps after averaging 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as Imhotep Institute won the Class 5A state championship in Pennsylvania.
Edwards led all scorers with 20 points in that title game win.
“When he needs to go get a bucket, he can go get you a bucket,” Branham said of Edwards. “He defends, rebounds, he can push the ball up the floor himself . . . a lot of translatable skills.”
The rising senior has previously said that Kentucky was his dream school growing up.
As far as the Volunteers go, Edwards was quick to highlight the family atmosphere he experienced during his Tennessee visit in March.
“I felt welcomed, the team welcomed me like I already went there,” Edwards said. “I’m a big person on family atmosphere.”
For what it’s worth, following the April evaluation periods, Calipari and the entire Kentucky coaching staff traveled to Philadelphia to meet with Edwards and his family amid rumors Tennessee had taken the lead in Edwards’ recruitment.
Edwards said Saturday he doesn’t have any visits lined up to schools in June, which should give him plenty of time to ruminate over the emerging recruiting showdown between Kentucky and Tennessee.
“Where I feel comfortable at,” Edwards said when asked what was most important to him in his college selection process. “I want be able to be myself at a school.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 7:50 AM.
