Fittingly, on the afternoon when he went off for 29 points and 15 rebounds, Anthony Edwards paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant.
Nobody was comparing Edwards with the legendary NBA star, who died along with eight others in a helicopter crash Sunday, least of all Edwards. But when he was asked Saturday about the NBA's fourth-leading scorer of all time after his scintillating performance in Georgia's 63-48 win over Texas A&M, Edwards was quick and genuine with his answer.
“I went to a Hawks game when they played the Lakers, and he was the greatest player I’ve ever seen,” said Edwards, the nation's leading-scoring freshman. “Face-to-face, he was un-guardable. I saw a video once of him telling kids he wanted to destroy his opponent, to make them reconsider why they wanted to play basketball. That sticks with me. I told my trainer today, ‘Remember what Mamba says.’ I came out there and just played.”
Photos | Cunningham on Edwards
Edwards did play like Bryant on Saturday. Not only did he have his highest offensive output since scoring 37 against Michigan State on Nov. 26, he also recorded a career high in rebounds and, according to coach Tom Crean, registered a team-best 14 of a season-high 47 deflections on defense, including two steals.
Asked whether it was his best performance at Georgia, Crean grinned wide.
“Thus far, thus far,” Crean said. “But as I said to him at the end of the game, ‘It’s all got to turn up now that we're in February.’ It’s all got to turn up.”
Edwards wasn’t sure if it was his best outing so far, but acknowledged he played better than he has later.
“I guess you could say that,” the 6-foot-5 guard said. “... I'm just thankful we all played together out there.”
It was fitting that Edwards’ performance came on a day when several legends were in the house for Alumni Day, including Hugh Durham, who won more games at Georgia than any other coach has, and who coached Dominique Wilkins and several other greats. The Bulldogs proceeded to put on a show for them and a near sellout crowd of 10,156 at Stegeman Coliseum.
It was a performance appreciated by all, including the opposing coach.
“I don’t study it a lot relative to (Edwards) being be the first pick or second pick. I’ve heard all those things,” said Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams, who succeeded Crean as Marquette’s head coach. “But based on his performance today, I just thought he was incredible. ... I thought his impact on winning many have been as good as it’s been all year, particularly his job on the glass.”
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bulldogs (12-9, 2-6 SEC), who head back out on the road to face Florida on Wednesday. The Aggies fall to 10-10 and 4-4 in league play.
The Bulldogs also received much-needed contributions from Rayshaun Hammonds and Sahvir Wheeler. Wheeler, a freshman point guard, had nine points and five assists after missing most of the past three games with injuries. He also had six of Georgia’s 19 turnovers. But he was understandably excited to play Texas A&M, a team he committed to before a coaching change.
“It’s an SEC game, at the end of the day, and we were just trying to come out with the win,” Wheeler said. “It was nothing personal.”
Hammonds also had eight points and five rebounds days after going scoreless with one shot attempt in Tuesday’s dreadful loss at Missouri.
Edwards was incredibly active for the Bulldogs, scoring and defending while playing 39 of the game’s 40 minutes. He still took 21 shots to get his points, but was much more energetic on defense, getting 13 of his rebounds on that end of the floor and also recording three steals.
Edwards’ highlights were many, but probably none better than his windmill dunk at the end of a fast-break off a steal. The play gave the Bulldogs a 17-point lead with 2:57 to play and brought the appreciative home crowd to its feet.
Edwards was most proud of all the rebounds.
“I just took it upon myself to try to go down there and grab every rebound that I could,” he said. “I feel like we can compete with anybody when we put our mind to it.”
Considering all the empty possessions because of turnovers, it was a wonder that Georgia managed to reach intermission with a 24-21 lead. The Bulldogs had 14 turnovers in the first half. But they also shot 40 percent from 3-point range and got seven points from Wheeler, a dynamic freshman from Houston who has been unable to play much of late.
Crean called the key play in the game a loose-ball situation in which freshman backup Mike Peake dove to the ground to take possession and called timeout with eight seconds remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs were able to draw up a play that ended with Wheeler's driving layup that gave the Bulldogs a three-point lead at the halftime buzzer.
Georgia carried that momentum into the second half and outscored the Aggies 15-6 over the first five minutes.
“They figured out a way to get better today, a way to stay on the floor,” Crean said. “You’re going to hit people for rebounds, you’re going to get on the floor for a loose ball and you're going to defend.”
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