As Anthony Edwards was pouring in shot-after-shot on the way to 37 points against Michigan State in the Maui Invitational last week, everybody – NBA legend Bill Walton included – was compelled to say, why doesn’t he shoot the ball every time down the floor?
That was reiterated the following night when Edwards took half the number of shots in a closer-than-it-should have been game against Division II’s Chaminade. Of course, Edwards came through at the end, with a blocked shot followed by a game-winning 3, and finished with a respectable if underwhelming 24 points.
Back stateside, as the Bulldogs prepared this week for a home game Wednesday night against North Carolina Central, that remained the primary question for the man they call “Ant Man.” Perhaps he should plan to shoot every time down the floor, unless the opposing defense absolutely dictates that he doesn’t.
“That’s not me,” Edwards stated flatly. “I’m not that type of player. I try to come out and get my teammates involved first. Let them see what they can do, then see if it’s my time to take over the game.”
Georgia might not need Edwards to singlehandedly take over this one. While the Eagles (2-6) have played in the past three NCAA Tournaments, the Bulldogs remain a perfect 15-0 against teams from the MEAC. That includes a 100-66 win over Delaware State earlier this season.
But this game, like most others before Georgia enters SEC play next month, is about a team of 10 newcomers learning to play together and figuring out the best way to attack opponents besides giving the ball to Edwards and telling everybody else to clear out.
Lest it be forgotten, the Bulldogs’ 2019 recruiting class carried a No. 10 national ranking and included four Top 100 signees, plus a very capable graduate transfer. The end goal remains not for Georgia to be “Ant Man Show,” but to make it “To the Show,” meaning postseason play.
Or, more succinctly, to win. The Bulldogs lost two of three in Maui. Edwards’ shot at the end versus Chaminade proved the only game-winner.
“Anthony did a really good job, and there were times we had four freshmen on the court during that run (against Michigan State),” Georgia coach Tom Crean said. “The youth getting a chance to play in that type of environment, playing against that type of competition, making that kind of run— all those things help. But at the end of the day, you want to be able to have those things turn into wins.
“That's why, to get the win Wednesday— as tough as a game as that was — was a really crucial thing, because that could have gone either way. … We were feeling fatigue, and our guys responded, and [Edwards] made a big shot at the end of the game."
Edwards is nothing if not energizing. But the goal Wednesday will be to produce a more balanced and less frenetic performance than has been the norm this season.
It’s also important that the Bulldogs start to settle into and identify individual roles. It’s clear what Edwards’ is, but not necessarily so many others.
Edwards is averaging 20.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, Rayshaun Hammonds is the only other double-figures scorer at 14.1 per game.
Georgia also will look to play with more urgency.
“I feel like we learned that we can’t come out playing around,” Edwards said. “The second game (in Maui), second half, we saw that we could be a pretty good team. We can’t just do that one game.
“We have to do that every night.”
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