Justin Edwards, a five-star forward from Philadelphia in the class of 2023, recently spoke with On3 Sports’ Joe Tipton about his recruitment. As one of the top stars in the class, Edwards will be a marquee recruit to whichever school he decides to commit to. According to On3 Sports’ consensus rankings, Edwards is listed as the No. 1 player from Pennsylvania, the No. 5 player at the position of small forward, and the No. 13 overall player in the nation.
Edwards said in the interview that there are seven schools that are recruiting him most frequently: Tennessee, Auburn, UConn, Kentucky, Maryland, Villanova, and Kansas.
So far, the 6-foot-7 forward has only taken official visits to Tennessee and Kentucky but did sneak in an unofficial visit to UConn as well. Edwards spoke to Tipton recently about what that visit to Knoxville was like back on March 4.
“It was like a family atmosphere,” Edwards said in the interview. “They welcomed me like I was family and I liked that. I like building connections with the players and stuff. I just like feeling like I’m welcomed.”
For Edwards, the specific coaching that Tennessee can offer is one of the most standout aspects of potentially joining the Vols’ program.
“I look at how he (Rick Barnes) plays his wings,” Edwards said to On3. “Like the past wings that he’s had and the wings he has now, and I feel like he does a good job with them. That’s one of the main things I look at.”
Tennessee Recruiting: Son of NBA Champion Lands Offer From Tennessee
As things stand on Thursday, Kentucky currently holds a commanding lead when it comes to predicting Edwards’ landing spot. According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Kentucky leads the way at 94.7 percent, with Tennessee in second at just 2.3 percent. According to Edwards though, he doesn’t often hear from the Kentucky program or the Wildcats’ coaches.
“Once in the blue, not a lot,” Edwards said in the interview about how often he hears from Kentucky.
Still, though, the tradition and pride of Kentucky Basketball have stood out in a major way to the five-star recruit.
“It’s a basketball state,” Edwards said about Kentucky. “Everything about it is basketball. The fans, and everything. It’s all about basketball.”
According to Edwards in the interview, there is no timetable yet for his decision and announcement. However, after Edwards spoke with On3 about the current state of his recruitment, it does sound like Tennessee is working hard to be in a good position for the talented five-star forward.
On Thursday afternoon, ESPN dropped its first Top 100 rankings for the class of 2023, with Justin Edwards landing at the No. 13 spot.
First ever ESPN 💯 for the class of 2023 just dropped 👀 @PaulBiancardi pic.twitter.com/CFHfxiH6Ec
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) April 21, 2022
