BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Freshman Anthony Edwards wasn’t one of Georgia’s player representatives to join head coach Tom Crean at SEC Basketball Media Days Wednesday.

However, that didn’t keep him from being the talk of the Bulldogs' session.

"We thought about it (bringing Edwards), but the important thing every day is to make sure we're doing everything academically that we need to do," Crean said. "He's going to get plenty of attention, but this is good for the seniors. At the same time, it's a full day of school back there (in Athens)."

One has to go back quite a way to find a freshman with as much hype as has been tagged to Edwards, although as senior Tyree Crump explains, the Atlanta native may be the humblest player on the team.

“That’s my brother. We’re real close. His mom passed away; my dad passed—we just connected when he got here,” Crump said. “He’s just a great player. He’s young, but he understands the game. It’s not about him. He wants to make his team better. He wants to make this team better. When you’ve got a guy like that, that’s what you want. So much attention is going to be on him but that’s going to open opportunities for the rest of us.”

Grad transfer Donnell Gresham Jr. echoed what Crump had to say about Edwards, who was voted to the All-SEC preseason first team.

“I think he’s handling it very well. He’s very young, but he’s very humble and a very good person,” Gresham Jr. said. “I think he’s handling all the attention well.”

So, it seems, are his teammates.

No jealousy here.

“I think we’re all handling it. We understand how big a person Anthony is across the country,” Gresham Jr. said. “We just encourage him to stay positive and do what he does.”

Edwards’ resume is certainly one of the more impressive you’ll find.

The nation’s No. 3 player according to Rivals, Edwards—6-foot-5, 225 pounds—averaged 25.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals prior to taking part in the McDonald’s All-American Game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, scoring 12 points and dishing out three assists.

Head coach Tom Crean said he’s been very pleased with the work Edwards has so far put in.

“He’s looking to be more efficient, and efficiency comes when you’re making everyone else better, when you understand how good you have to be on both ends of the floor,” Crean said. “He’s got athletic ability, and overall ability, that he doesn’t even really have an idea of how fast he is, how good he can be.

“He’s very young, obviously. He just turned 19, but it’s our job to get that out of him on a consistent basis. I think that’s where his production will come from, and once he gets that, I think the efficiency will take off. Not only can he be an outstanding offensive player, but he can be an elite defensive player, without question.”

By the way Crump puts it, Edwards is already proving to be quite the young leader.

“People look up to him. You’ve got players on this team who look up to him. Younger players, older player, the older players look up to him, too,” Crump said. “They see him doing something, they’re going to do it. If they see him in the gym, they’re going to get in the gym. That’s leadership.

“That’s crazy to think about. I tell him that all the time, you’ve got so much impact on people you just don’t even know.”