Justin Edwards' continued growth is huge for Kentucky's postseason chances

It’s still mostly happening in spurts, but we’re beginning to understand more and more why Justin Edwards was so highly touted out of high school. The spurts are becoming so impressive that you can’t help but wonder how he might contribute to Kentucky’s chances in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.

As we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, Edwards can shift the momentum of the entire game with just a handful of plays on both ends of the floor.

That was put on full display Wednesday night against Vanderbilt. Edwards had just two points at halftime, both coming at the free-throw line. It wasn’t until early in the second half that the 6-foot-8 wing began to make his mark. He only needed less than 90 seconds, too.

Leading Vandy by just two, Edwards got himself rolling with a three-pointer at the 17:31 mark of the second half. He drove into the lane, dished the ball out to DJ Wagner, then quickly relocated behind the arc where Wagner hit him for a rhythm jumper. Money.

(Side note: Edwards is one of Kentucky’s better players when it comes to moving and cutting off ball.)

A couple of possessions later, after Antonio Reeves missed a dunk, Edwards immediately cut the Vanderbilt fastbreak short by poking the ball away while behind the ball handler. The ball ended up in Reed Sheppard‘s hands, who then found a cutting Edwards on the baseline for a rim-rocking, one-handed slam.

Justin Edwards with a slam so good that Cal can’t help but to mug a little bit. 😤😤 #BBN pic.twitter.com/cnClwvR19F

— Buddy 🏀😼 (@BigBlueBud) March 7, 2024

The next time down for Vanderbilt, Edwards tipped out a missed shot by the ‘Dores to get Kentucky the ball back. Sheppard once again found Edwards, who floated above the break for another perfect catch-and-shoot three-pointer. That’s 10 points, one rebound, one steal, three makes in just 84 seconds of game time, and a fresh eight-point lead for the ‘Cats. Kentucky went on to win 93-77.

“Justin made the shots that we needed in the second half to create some space,” Head coach John Calipari said afterward.

Edwards’ play as of late is an encouraging trend for Calipari and company. It really started in Baton Rouge during the loss to LSU on Feb. 21. He had nine points on 3-4 shooting from deep in that outing. He followed that up by dropping 28 points against Alabama the next time out on a perfect 10-10 shooting clip. But his growth was noticeable even before that.

Let’s compare Edwards’ stats from his first 20 games at Kentucky to the last nine.

• First 20: 7.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.8 SPG 22 MPG | 44.2/28.6/70.8
• Last 9: 11.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 21 MPG | 61.8/54.5/83.3

Those shooting numbers help tell the story. Edwards hasn’t really cut down on his shot diet or minutes. He attempted 6.9 shots per game (2.5 from deep) across his first 20 compared to 6.1 shots per game (2.4 from deep) over his last nine. The efficiency has just skyrocketed. Calipari is using Edwards at the four spot more often. “We have been good with Justin at four which we were again today,” he said after beating Vanderbilt.

Kentucky is now 11-1 this season when Edwards hits double-figures in scoring. In order to make a deep run, Calipari is going to need the freshman to keep stepping up. Recent trends indicate that should happen.