Tom Crean confirmed Thursday what most already assumed: that signee Anthony Edwards has a chance to be a difference maker for the Georgia basketball team.

The Bulldogs’ second-year coach made his comments during a press conference Thursday at Stegeman Coliseum where he, along with assistants Chad Dollar and Joe Scott, met with the media to discuss Georgia’s signing Class, which currently sits at No. 10 nationally according to Rivals.com.

“Anthony Edwards is a transformative talent and has transformative potential in the sense of what he can help bring this program,” Crean said. “There’s so many things you see with him when it comes to his talent, explosiveness, his desire, his grit, but there’s a lot of things you don’t see, and that’s what we’re really excited about.”

Long-suffering Bulldog hoops fans should as well.

The nation’s No. 2 player according to Rivals, the 6-foot-5 guard starred in last month’s McDonald’s All-American Game, where he scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, dished out three assists, and blocked a shot for the East team in its 115-110 victory. In high school, Edwards averaged 29 points, nine rebounds, and two assists for Holy Spirit Prep during the 2018-19 season, leading the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Class 3A state championship in 2018 and a runner-up finish in 2019.

Edwards’ ability to make others around him better is another aspect Crean loves.

“He is a very cerebral guy, in that he wants to make plays for others,” Crean said. “I think he gets a lot of excitement about how to make passes and plays for others, and we want to help utilize that in every possible way. He’s as complete a guard as he can possibly be.”

However, Crean’s plans for Edwards aren’t defined by him playing just one position.

“We’re very position-less. A lot of times that’s not always understood,” Crean said. “Somebody might be a size, they might be a height, they might do different things. But we want as many basketball players as we possibly can have, and I think there’s a lot of basketball player in Anthony. Even the ball is in his hands a lot, he makes plays for others. He needs to get better without the ball, his shooting is going to get better--every aspect of his game is going to improve, and I think that’s one of the reasons he chose to come here.”

Crean said fans can expect Edwards to get a whole lot better while he’s here.

“I think it (his skill set) is going to expand. I think the biggest thing we’ve got to do is get him more consistent,” Crean said. “When you can play that well, be that efficient and effective, there’s no reason you can’t do that more often, and where his career is heading, like the others in what we’re going to need, it’s really about that level of consistency.”

Edwards is one of four players inked so far by the Bulldogs, along with Christian Brown and November signees Toumani Camara and Jaykwon Walton.

Brown, a 6-6, 200-pound wing originally from Columbia, S.C., averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 boards and 1.4 steals for Oak Hill as a senior. He averaged 10.0 points while shooting 53.8 percent from the field in a pair of games at the GEICO Nationals. Brown is listed as the No. 60, No. 61 and No. 62 prospect by ESPN.com, rivals.com and 247.com composite, respectively.

“He’s a guy who can do a lot of different things,” Crean said of Brown. “He’s made a lot of improvement. He’s gotten bigger, he’s certainly taller, and his game is improving. He’s got a lot of untapped talent, fight and aggressiveness that we just need to help become more fundamentally sound. We’ve got to help him become more efficient. We’ve got to help him become clear. But as far as his desire to get better, his commitment to work, and his excitement for the game, he really wanted to be at Georgia like Anthony; we felt really, really good about that.”

All four newcomers are expected to be on campus when the Bulldogs begin summer workouts in June.

Crean’s not done.

With three more available scholarships following the transfers of Teshaun Hightower, Ignas Sarguinas, and JoJo Toppin, Crean and his staff have been busy scanning the NCAA’s transfer portal, checking to see what players might be available to fit what the Bulldogs are trying to do.

“We know we’d like to add some size. We know we’d like to add somebody else, at least in the backcourt. We’ve got to make sure we’re not guard-short there,” said Crean, who added he has not decided if he will use all three for the current 2019 class. “Again, this is such a position-less team, but the more we can play three, quicker, decision-making, ball handling, driving guys, the better we’re going to be.”

Crean said it will also be important to address what’s going on in the paint.

“This is the best rebounding league I’ve ever been in, and I don’t see that going anywhere,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re addressing that constantly.”

NOTE: Crean said there's still no final word from Nic Claxton on whether he will apply for the NBA Draft.

“We’re getting that feedback. There will be something clear on that very soon,” Crean said. “He has been a fantastic worker. He’s done a great job of getting better with the fourth week of our offseason. For a guy with options like that, he has handled this thing beautifully. But we’re getting more and more feedback from him.”

Under new NCAA rules, Claxton could apply for the NBA Draft, but still opt to return to Georgia in the event he was not selected.