Justin Edwards uses Reed Sheppard's mental health coach to find confidence

“I kept saying, ‘You’re going to break through, I believe in you,’” John Calipari said of Justin Edwards. “He said, ‘Coach, I believe in you.’ And I said, ‘You just got to stay the course.’”

Staying the course is easier said than done, though. When you’re the top-ranked recruit in Kentucky’s top-ranked recruiting class and projected as a potential No. 1 draft pick, it’s easy to get in your head when things don’t go perfectly well to open your college basketball career.

Edwards started his career scoring in double figures in six of his first eight games while averaging over four rebounds per contest in that stretch — just 10.3 points per contest, though. Then he failed to hit the double-digit mark in 11 of 12 games and earned fewer than 20 minutes of playing time in seven, highlighted by a nine-minute scoreless effort at Arkansas on Jan. 27.

The former five-star recruit just couldn’t get going and was clearly crumbling mentally. Freshman teammate Reed Sheppard saw him unraveling and decided to step in before he really nosedived, recommending the same mental health help he was getting.

That opened the door to Edwards digging in, hoping to take some of the weight off his shoulders.

“Reed introduced me to a mental health coach and we’ve been talking. And I’ve been reading books about mental health,” he said. “Just to be able to be free, just play and mentally be better, it feels really good. … (I learned to) just to not have negative thoughts, always have the positive. Have a positive voice at the podium.”

Edwards’ mental breakthrough paved the path for his on-court breakthrough, exploding for 28 points on a perfect 10-10 shooting and 4-4 from three while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 117-95 win over Alabama. The 6-8 freshman made shots, attacked the glass and defended, putting together his best all-around performance by a mile.

Sheppard always saw that in him, he just had to believe in himself to make it happen.

“I think it’s helped him a lot and I hope it has. I’ve been lucky enough to have this guy, he’s been able to help me be positive and no matter what, have a positive voice and a positive mindset toward everything. That has really helped,” Sheppard said of sharing a mental health coach with Edwards. “I knew Justin wasn’t doing it on purpose, he was just struggling. I knew if he could talk to someone and someone could talk with him about staying positive.

“Keep going and don’t give up, don’t let it take his joy, find a way. I’m really glad he’s finally turning the page and I’m super proud of him.”

And it’s not like Edwards is a brand-new player. He’s had this in him all along, which is why his coaches and teammates never gave up on him. When he’s playing free and with confidence, the real Justin Edwards comes out and shines. We just finally got to see it with our own eyes against Alabama.

“He’s not thinking, he’s just going out there and playing basketball. Justin Edwards is a really, really good basketball player. You guys have known that for multiple years now,” Sheppard said. “Every time he goes out on the court, he’s just playing and having fun. That’s what I tell him, I just look at him and tell him to smile. That’s kind of our joke with each other, any time one of us isn’t smiling, the other one tells them to smile.

“Stay having fun and don’t lose the enjoyment of playing basketball.”

Edwards finally earned his moment. Now he wants others fighting for theirs to find it in themselves the same way he did — no matter how long it takes or how dark things get.

There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

“Just stay the course, you know? It’s not going to rain forever,” he said. “Stay the course and believe in God.”