NBA Comparison: Dwyane Wade/Donovan Mitchell

Strengths: A rangy, 6’5 225 guard prospect with a truly formidable combination of size, strength and quick twitch athleticism on the perimeter … Somewhat of a physical freak, possessing an imposing frame that is mature well beyond its years and that he knows how to use to his advantage … A powerful and explosive leaper, particularly off of 2 feet, and is pretty light on his feet for his size, making him an absolute terror for defenses when he’s slashing to the rim in the half court or running the floor in transition … Is at his best when he’s going downhill, often steamrolling the wings and smaller guards that defended him on his way to the rim throughout his amateur career … Is a big-time threat to finish above the rim and through contact; has posterized his fair share of defenders and also drawn fouls at a pretty good clip in college as well (over 5 FTA a game, made a pretty solid 77%) … Has outstanding body control; seems to hang and glide in the air and rarely ever is off balance or knocked off his path due to his strong build and broad shoulders … In addition to his physical traits, Edwards has a groundwork of promising skills as a scorer, most notably a sweet looking jump shot with legit NBA range and a picturesque release that he uses to do the majority of his damage and shoots with brash confidence … Will be able to get his shots off due to the high and quick nature of his mechanics, as well as the nice elevation he rises up into his jumper with … Can create and score off the dribble as well, at times flashing the ability to pull off advanced shot creation moves that lead to impressive “good defense, better offense” shots … Has a great 1st step and also uses step back and jab step moves to create space against tight defense to get his shots when isolated … Projects to be a very tough player for defenders to contain 1 on 1 … Led the SEC in scoring and had multiple 30+ point games as a Fr., really showed he could get hot at times and light up the scoreboard in a hurry with his ability to hit perimeter shots as well as get to the rim and convert … Showed glimpses as a post up scorer as a Fr. the few times he tried against smaller guards; an impressive tool to have as a teenaged perimeter prospect, and one that could very well be useful to build on given his physical ability … Occasionally shows good timing moving without the ball as a cutter to the rim, which can lead to easy scores at the rim … Capable of blocking the occasional shot or creating a turnover by gambling in the passing lane that leads to transition opportunities … Often operated as a lead guard by necessity and to get the ball in his hands as much as possible in college, could very well see himself become much more efficient as a pro with more talent around him and less reliance on him as the sole playmaker to produce … Has the tools to be a factor on the defensive glass …

Weaknesses: Edwards has to improve his assertiveness on both ends of the court to reach his potential, he too often bails out defenders and doesn’t utilize his physical gifts to the best of his ability on a game to game basis at this stage … There were games when it seemed like he could’ve took over and made his presence felt but instead settled for low percentage jumpers all game or showed a total disregard of playing defense … Shot selection is a work in progress … Needs to work on picking his spots offensively, if you force him off the 3 point line he can get out of control off the bounce because he lacks a real mid-range game at the moment … Should look to develop a floater and/or pull-up J from around that 12 to 15 ft area to keep defenders honest … Basketball IQ at times leaves something to be desired … Had poor defensive awareness at UGA; frequently got caught sleep at the wheel not seeing his man and the ball when matched up in the halfcourt, which allowed backdoor slips to the rim for easy layups or offensive rebounds by not locating someone to box out when the shot goes up … His team had a better defensive rating without him on the court than with, which is discouraging considering the talent jump he’s about to make in terms of the players he’ll be guarding … Given the fact that he has all the tools to be a great defender if he just works on his effort and gets a better understanding of weakside defense, there is hope for him to improve on that end …. Played heavy minutes as a lead guard with the ball in his hands, but didn’t read the floor or run his teams offense well enough to justify it … Nothing more than a mediocre passer (2.8 : 2.7 A:TO with a 130 usage rate) for a player who was projected as a combo guard in HS … Sometimes Edwards can struggle to contribute when his shots aren’t falling … Had poor efficiency (40% FG and 29% 3FG on 7 attempts a game), partly due to him taking bad shots but also due to usage and the type of extra attention he saw as a Fr … Played on a bad UGA team that was not going to make the NCAA Tournament field in 2020, which is concerning for a prospect in the running to be selected in the top half of the lottery …

Overall: Edwards has been projected as the top pick by NBADraft.net for over a year … He was seen as a favorite to be the 1st pick in the 2020 Draft by the masses shortly after the lottery order was confirmed, and if you watch him play you can see the reasons why … Blessed with explosive athleticism and a NBA ready body at 19 years old, as well as a nice looking jumper, he has the ability to be molded into a formidable scorer and player in the NBA … He struggled defensively and did little to show that he should be viewed as a combo guard in college though, looking like a wing who was more likely to hunt his shot than make his teammates better … In addition, Edwards will have to answer why UGA squad was uncharacteristically bad for a team with a potential lottery pick on their roster … While his effectiveness could improve with less of a burden to carry, it may be concerning to some teams picking in the top part of the lottery that he’s projected as a potential franchise player but struggled so much when asked to lead his college team much like a franchise player would … Still, Edwards offers a formidable combination of size and athleticism that could see a team strike it rich if they can harness his talent and work on some of his correctable weaknesses, particularly on defense …

Jorrye Nixon 11/10/20

Strengths: 6’4 combo guard with elite level athleticism … Shows a good feel for the game and competitiveness … Good size and length for position with a 6’9 wingspan and 8’4 standing reach … Strong build. At 17, already has an NBA body … Uses his strength well and should be able to add additional strength … Finishes well with contact and can bully smaller guards … High-level athleticism, good body control, and hang time … Has a quick first step … Gets to the rim and throws down dunks in traffic … Gets going down hill with a dribble drive and finishes well with either hand … Natural scoring ability … Shoots well from three and can shoot from NBA range … Needs just a little bit of space to get his shot off … Adept ballhandler and drives with either hand … Keeps his head up and has good court vision … Reads double teams well … Passes out of drives … Good rebounder for his position … Good tools and athleticism defensively …  Blocks shots well for a guard … Makes the game look easy … Good competitor and doesn’t lack for confidence … Youth is on his side. One of the youngest incoming freshmen, won’t turn 18 until August, 2019 …

Weaknesses: Can improve as a free throw shooter. Shot just 58.3% FT% over the Under Armour Association in 2018 … Solid playmaker but has room to improve if he’s going to play both guard positions in the NBA … Can work on limiting turnovers … Can improve midrange scoring, tends to utilize deep threes or getting all the way to the rim … Doesn’t really pick his spots as a midrange shooter or show much of a floater … For someone who can get to the rim and challenge the help defender, he settles for a lot of deep, contested shots … Can learn to incorporate more movement when playing off the ball … Should study players like Steph Curry on how to use constant movement and coming off off of screens to set up shots …

High School: Finished fourth over the Under Armour Association in scoring with 20.4 points per game while shooting a ninth best 52.3% FG% in 2018. Led the NBPA Top 100 in scoring with 17.6 points per game while shooting 56.5% FG% in 2018 … Shot a fourth best 47.4% 3P% on 5.7 attempts per game over the Under Armour Association in 2018 … Averaged four assists, one steal,  5.5 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, 2.8 turnovers per game over the Under Armour Association in 2018 …

Notes: Native of Atlanta, Georgia … Incoming Georgia freshman … Scored 12 points in the 2019 McDonald’s All-American Game … Scored 21 points in the 2019 Jordan Brand Classic … Played in the 2017 Underclassmen All-American Game …

Evan Tomes 7/17/19