The problem with being labeled one of the nation’s best freshmen can sometimes be the expectations that go along with it.

Georgia’s Anthony Edwards can attest to that.

Although Edwards enters Wednesday’s game against Tennessee (7 p.m., ESPNU) still leading all Division I freshmen in scoring (18.7 points per game), his recent games have caused some to wonder if the Atlanta native has been feeling the burden of having to carry the team night in and night out.

Take Saturday’s 82-60 loss for example, a game that not only saw Edwards get off to slow start from the field (1 for 7), but endure a dreadful night from the free-throw line, converting a mere 4 of 11 attempts.

Auburn fans let him hear about it, too, as Edwards was inundated with shouts of “overrated” every time he stepped to the line.

“That really didn’t bother me. I was just frustrated with myself,” said Edwards, who was converting over 70 percent of his free throws coming into the contest. “I just couldn’t make my free throws. But that other stuff, no, I don’t care or worry about that.”

Head coach Tom Crean admits there are areas of Edwards' game that he still needs to improve, including what has occasionally been a reluctance to take the ball to the rim.

“He’s got to get better with that, but the problem and the big growth step for him right now is the predetermination and we just can’t have that,” Crean said. “The tough news the other day is he didn’t make the free throws. The great news is he got 11 attempts. That’s when you look at the glass half full instead of half empty, and we’ve got to continue to build on that.”

Crean also wants to see Edwards pick up the defensive end of his game.

Although the former McDonald’s All-American gets more attention for the shots he makes, Crean believes the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Edwards can make just as much of an impact on the defensive end.

“Not a lot of things affect him, so he’s got to make sure when we get down on that other end that his defense is high level,” Crean said. “He’s got a chance to be a tremendous defensive player so his defense has got to be at a high level. We need him because he’s capable with that body, his strength and that length so those are the kind of things that are most important. It’s growing pains, on everybody, it really is. It just is, and that’s why we need these home crowds to be so great for us and why we need to learn and get better.”

However, it’s not just on Edwards to make the improvements that Crean describes. The onus is on the entire squad to play the way Crean and his assistants want them to do.

“I’ve said this for the past year, this team has to be built on moving and cutting, him included. There’s got to be that moving and cutting,” Crean said. “We offensive rebound better when we do, the ball touches different hands, it gets reversed, our rate of scoring goes up; so, I think it’s that. But when you start to dribble the ball, teams settle in.”

Settling is the last thing he wants Edwards to do.

“I tell these guys all the time, every time you dribble the ball, you’re bringing the defense to you,” Crean said. “Every time you drive the ball the defense reacts to you.”