Ranking the Contenders for 5-star Justin Edwards; Kentucky or Tennessee?

Justin Edwards is the No. 10 ranked player in the 2023 On3 Consensus. The 6-foot-6 wing has averaged 15.4 points on 35.4-percent shooting from three playing for Team Final on Nike’s EYBL Circuit.

Zach Geoghegan of KSR, On3’s Kentucky team site, announced the five-star would announce on July 24. Geoghegan also said the final two schools are Kentucky and Tennessee.

Let’s rank the contenders.

1. Kentucky

In the last couple of months, John Calipari took on this recruitment personally. When Calipari sets his sights on a player, history shows he rarely misses.

With five-star Robert Dillingham and four-star Reed Sheppard already in tow, a wing with Edwards’ skill-set fits well with the surrounding pieces.

Kentucky’s chances: 90-percent

2. Tennessee

Tennessee made a strong push for Edwards, and they really had the ear of some people surrounding the five-star wing. The talk of defensive-minded wings Rick Barnes has put in the league, Keon Johnson, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Hamilton, etc., caught their ears.

Tennessee’s chances: 10-percent

Conclusion

Intel gathered from around Justin Edwards’ recruitment says that Kentucky has been the school Edwards has favored for quite some time. While Tennessee stayed it for a long time and may even have led for some time early, and programs like Auburn made a late push to get a visit (that did not come to fruition), the lure of Kentucky was too much.

I placed my expert pick into On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Edwards to choose Kentucky. I have a 90-percent confidence rating on that pick.

Behind my expert pick, along with Zach Geoghegan and Jack Pilgrim’s expert picks, Kentucky has a 97.8-percent chance of landing Edwards, according to RPM.