History was made Wednesday when Anthony Edwards was taken by Minnesota with the first pick in the NBA Draft.
With his selection, Edwards becomes the highest-drafted basketball player ever for Georgia, surpassing Dominique Wilkins, who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in 1982.
Other top-10 picks include Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, taken No. 8 overall by Detroit in 2013, and Jarvis Hayes, who was taken with the No. 10 pick by Washington in 2003.
Georgia now has eight former players taken in the first round, a list that also includes Willie Anderson (No. 10 to San Antonio in 1988), Alec Kessler (No. 12 by Houston prior a trade to Miami in 1987), Vern Fleming (No. 22 to Indiana in 1984) and Jumaine Jones (No. 27 to Atlanta before a trade to Philadelphia in 1999).
"It (being the No. 1 pick) started being on my mind about two months ago," Edwards said in a Wednesday night Zoom session with reporters. "Then when Minnesota came to see me, I had a great feeling that I was going to be the No. 1 pick, just based on everything they were telling me. That boosted by confidence a lot once I sat down with them."
Edwards credited Bulldog head coach Tom Crean for helping get him where he is today.
"One major thing that Coach Crean helped me with is to play without the ball, so I feel like me, going to a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, I'm not coming in as the star player, anything like that," he said. "They've got two superstars (D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns) on the team. I've just got come here and play a role and I feel like moving without the ball is going to help me a lot playing with those two guys."
Edwards was the nation's top-scoring freshman last season, averaging 19.1 ppg for the Bulldogs. He scored 610 points, the seventh-best single-season tally in UGA history and the 10th-best effort every by an SEC freshman. He was later was named the SEC Freshman of the Year in balloting league coaches and the Associated Press.
"He's very gifted with natural ability. His body balance, his power, his strength, his ability to attack the basket. When he decides to go to the rim, nobody is going to get in his way. He's going to go through somebody or over them," ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said. "The problem is, he probably didn't go to the rim as much as he should have because he didn't shoot as many free throws. But he's a three-level scorer, he's got really deep range from 3 and he can put the ball on the deck and get to the rim."
He was the first Bulldog to win the coaches' award since its inception in 2001. Edwards was the third Bulldog to earn the AP recognition (previously known as Newcomer of the Year), following Jumaine Jones in 1998 (in the award's first year) and Jarvis Hayes in 2002. He was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week a school-record four times, being selected on Dec. 2, Jan. 3, March 2 and March 9.
The Atlanta native was a finalist of the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, and was tabbed the State of Georgia's Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. He's the ninth Bulldogs to claim that honor, and the fourth UGA winner in the last five years.
Edwards said he did not regret a second of the nine months he spent in Athens.
"It was the perfect thing for me to do, just because I was from Atlanta. Staying at home was always my thing when it came to my family being able to see me. I just felt like it was a great situation," Edwards said. "It was uplifting to be a part of the program. It made me become more of a leader day by day, getting one percent better every day and growing as person off the court."
Now, it's off to Minneapolis, a city Edwards said he's never been to before.
He can't wait to get started.
"I was going to be exited to be here and glad to be in this position, no matter where I ended up," Edwards said. "But I'm more than happy that I landed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. They have great coaches, great players, a great front office. I'm just ready to get there and get to work.'
