College basketball world reacts to Georgia landing 5-star prospect Anthony Edwards
Georgia basketball landed its best recruit in the history of the program on Monday, as 5-star guard Anthony Edwards committed to Tom Crean and the Bulldogs.
Related: Anthony Edwards commits to Georgia basketball
Edwards, who announced his decision in front of his school, is the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect and the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Should he sign with Georgia, he would be the first to do since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did so back in 2011.
Georgia beat out a number of blue bloods who were contending for his services, including Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas. Many shared their thoughts on Edwards’ decision on social media after the announcement.
#CreanTea https://t.co/deiHmgP05f
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) February 11, 2019
Huge recruiting coup for Tom Crean at Georgia — Atlanta guard Anthony Edwards, who could be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. https://t.co/e4zbnkNFBd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 11, 2019
Go Dawgs !!
— Coach Kirby Smart (@KirbySmartUGA) February 11, 2019
Anthony Edwards picks Georgia over Kentucky and others. He'll fight to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Read my profile on how Edwards grew into arguably the best high school basketball player in America https://t.co/ccGY0d3ddc
— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) February 11, 2019
— One Shining Podcast (@oneshiningpod) February 11, 2019
Anthony Edwards commits to GEORGIA š± @UGABasketball pic.twitter.com/QxyS0z8moo
— Overtime (@overtime) February 11, 2019
No secret for SUCCESS in acoaching in college / starts with recruiting ! @TomCrean takes a major step in building UGA hoops with commitment of the super talents of ANTHONY EDWARDS! https://t.co/VPeDv0daVi
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 11, 2019
Nic Claxton and Anthony Edwards at Georgia next year–two lottery-talent players for the 2020 Draft–will be fun to watch next season. https://t.co/zW27hgSPBW
— Steven Barnhart (@HWHoopsCentral) February 11, 2019
Saw Anthony Edwards was trending and feared something terrible had happened to the actor who played "Goose" in "Top Gun". Then found out it was just Tom Crean beating Calipari for the #1 recruit in the nation. So life is…GREAT!!!! pic.twitter.com/RvChZo5M6y
— Jon Schlitt (@jschlitt) February 11, 2019
Huge get for @UGABasketball. Anthony Edwards plus two 4 stars is just what Georgia needed.
— Dandy Walker (@Dandywalker25) February 11, 2019
Youāre looking at the happiest guy in the world!! Everybody help me welcome Anthony Edwards to bulldog nation!!! š„š„š„ā ā ā šššā¤ļøā¤ļø @UGABasketball @universityofga pic.twitter.com/AEU2rK5aHU
— D.A. LAYNE (@InTheLayne) February 11, 2019
#2 player in the nation Anthony Edwards staying home commits to UGA huge for Georgia bball an Tom Crean finally get a top recruit to stay in state he chose uga over UNC, Kentucky,Florida etc
— Kyle (@ThurgoDatman41) February 11, 2019
Will 5-star Anthony Edwards Play for Kirby Smart as well? pic.twitter.com/SXx3KkgcqQ
— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) February 11, 2019
Edwards said that playing for Crean and close to home was a big factor in his decision. He also citedĀ Crean’s work with guards like Dwyane Wade and Victor Oladipo as to why he’d like to play for Georgia.
Since the recruiting era began back in 2003, only Dwight Howard and Derrick Favors have been ranked higher as a recruit than Edwards. Favors was the No. 1 player in the 2009 class and currently plays for the Utah Jazz. Howard, a future NBA Hall of Famer, was the No. 1 player in the 2004 class.Ā That means that Georgia’s newest addition is rated higher than the likes of NBA lottery picks Wendell Carter, Collin Sexton and Jaylen Brown.Ā Edwards is also being pegged to be the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2020Ā NBA Draft, as many are comparing him to NBA MVP James Harden.
Georgia signed two 4-star players in the early signing period in Jaykwon Walton and Toumani Camara. With the Bulldogs adding Edwards, it propels Georgia’s 2019 basketball class to the No. 12 in the country.
Related: Getting to know 5-star Georgia prospect Anthony Edwards
The addition of Edwards is a much needed win for Crean and Georgia. The Bulldogs have gotten off to a 1-9 start in conference play this season. Georgia is 10-13 in its first season under Crean. Many on social media were also critical of Crean following comments he made about his roster this weekend.
With Edwards now in the class, and both Nicolas Claxton and Rayshaun Hammonds returning for the 2019-20 season, Georgia should have a very good shot of making the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Of course, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz both missed the NCAA tournament despite being No. 1 overall picks.
More Anthony Edwards and Georgia basketball stories from around DawgNation
- WATCH: UGA target Anthony Edwards puts on show but team loses in Region 1-AAA Tournament
- UGA basketball looks to reshape its future with Anthony Edwards
- WATCH: Georgia coach Tom Crean embarrassed how team played vs. Ole Miss on Lettermanās Day
- Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean: āOur fans canāt lose hopeā
- 5-star Georgia basketball prospect Anthony Edwards cancels Florida State visit