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Anthony Edwards is the nation's No. 2 overall player.

College basketball world reacts to Georgia landing 5-star prospect Anthony Edwards

Connor Riley
Connor Riley

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.

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.

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