Player Preview: Jason Edwards has arrived, and he's ready to "turn the AMP up"
"My story is just so unique in how I had to continue to show myself. I had to continually show everyone that what I was doing wasn’t a fluke."
For the vast majority of his basketball journey, Jason Edwards has been trying to prove people wrong.
He had zero Division I scholarship offers coming out of Parkview High School in Georgia.
He spent his freshman year redshirting at Miles College, a private HBCU in Alabama.
A year later, he was off to Dodge City Community in Kansas, where he eventually became an NJCAA First Team All-American, despite starting the season coming off the bench. Edwards’ numbers while there: 21.9 PPG and 40% shooting from beyond the arc on 96 makes from deep.
The kid who couldn’t get a D1 offer out of high school closed the season at Dodge with more than 50, mostly at the mid-major level.
North Texas had great success transitioning junior college All-Americans to the next level, and Edwards set off to be next in line.
Year three officially put him on the college basketball map, as Edwards earned First Team honors in the American Conference while scoring at a high level. He averaged 19.1 points per game, scored 30 points on five occasions, and almost instantly became one of the best scorers in college basketball.
From overlooked to unstoppable, Edwards’ rise continued at North Texas — but it was his move to Vanderbilt that cemented his status as one of the nation’s elite scorers.
Edwards led Vanderbilt to an 11-win improvement and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons. He earned Third Team All-SEC honors in a league that many were calling the best the sport has ever seen.
Now squarely on the national radar, Edwards will wrap his career at Providence, where a ravenous fanbase will look to him to lead the Friars back to the NCAA Tournament, and help wipe away the memories of a 12-20 record last year.
Electric on the court and engaging away from it, Edwards speaks plainly about what he brings to the floor, yet somehow manages to without to do so without any hint or arrogance.
“I wouldn’t say that I was necessarily a late bloomer — I was always a scorer, I was always pretty dominant — but my story is just so unique in how I had to continue to show myself. I had to continually show everyone that what I was doing wasn’t a fluke,” Edwards said on The Friar Podcast this summer.
He proved to be anything but a fluke at Vanderbilt, scoring at a high rate against the terrific size and athleticism of the SEC. “There would be times when I’d have to pinch myself,” he said of his journey from going under-recruited to game planning for the likes of Kentucky and Tennessee (two clubs Vandy beat last year).
“Basketball is basketball,” he said of his transition to the SEC. “There’s definitely times when you get star-struck, but I snap out of it pretty quick.”
“When I go out there and play basketball, it just feels like I’m playing basketball. It doesn’t feel like ‘Oh, I’m playing Arkansas with Cal on the sidelines’ or ‘I’m playing against Kentucky’ — you just go out there and play your game.”
“I’m just really excited to take the experience I had there, and use it here to help propel the program.”
In just over 25 minutes per game at Vanderbilt last season, Edwards averaged 17 points per game on 35% shooting from three and 83% at the free throw line.
He scored 30 against TCU, 20 at Missouri, 18 in a win over Tennessee, 21 at Alabama, 18 in a win at Kentucky, and 20 at Florida.
Some highlights:
His 27.1 points per 40 minutes ranked in the 99th percentile
A 9.9 turnover percentage landed him in the 83rd percentile
He scored 5.5 points in the paint and his 42.3% free throw rate was in the 82nd percentile
Edwards did damage as a pick and roll scorer, ranking in the 91st percentile
He was in the 83rd percentile in spot-up shooting, 72nd in isolation, and 83rd off screens.
He scored over 200 points more than anyone on Vanderbilt, a program that finished 9-23 the season prior, but went 20-13 last year and reached the NCAA Tournament after adding Edwards and Michigan State transfer AJ Hoggard to their backcourt.
Edwards has spoken throughout the offseason of wanting to create more for his teammates. To this point of his career, he has been a score-first guard at 6’1. Edwards had 40 assists last year to 51 turnovers.
He came to Providence, in part, because of conversations he had with Kim English about making his teammates better. His father appreciated the tradition of Friar basketball, and Edwards speaks openly about wanting to add to the legacy.
What can Providence fans expect when they see Edwards in a Friar uniform for the first time on Monday night? “I come to dominate every game, regardless of opponent,” he said on The Friar Podcast. “I attack every game the same way. Last year, I was attacking Austin Peay the same way I attacked Alabama. I was attacking Citadel the same way I was attacking Tennessee. I come in expecting to dominate. As soon as the game tips off, I’m trying to dominate.”
“I still feel like I have a lot more in the tank, and I feel like I could have produced more last year. And that’s what I’m really excited for this year — just being able to fully produce and play at my highest level, because I know I have another level I can reach. I’ve been working my ass off, and I know I’m going to reach that level this year, not for myself, but for the team.”
Edwards is ready to bring excitement back to the AMP. “Something that’s super important to me is the fanbase. I think I’m pretty exciting to watch. I’m pretty electric,” he said.
“I’m excited to turn the AMP up.”
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