It wasn't a full breakthrough, but Justin Edwards showed improvement against Tennessee

Something is beginning to click for Kentucky freshman Justin Edwards, even if it’s still not all the way there yet.

While he didn’t have his long-awaited “breakthrough” performance on Saturday night against Tennessee, he sure looked like a more confident player. A player trending in the right direction after weeks and weeks of struggles on the hardwood.

“I thought Justin did a good job today,” John Calipari said after Kentucky’s 103-92 loss to the fifth-ranked Volunteers. “It’s great to have him back in there where he can go. He did some really good stuff.”

Edwards’ stat line won’t jump off the page — seven points (3-8 FG) and four rebounds are right in line with his season averages. However, it’s how he played in his 18 minutes that elicits optimism about the rest of his season. He was more aggressive on offense by attacking the rim while hunting for his signature pull-up jumper. He was part of the reason why Tennessee’s leading scorer Dalton Knecht finished with just 16 points on 5-14 shooting.

Edwards scored a combined two points in his two most recent outings prior to Saturday. A quad injury then forced him to the sideline earlier this week against Florida. He shook all of that off against a top-five Tennessee team — the same school he nearly committed to out of high school before choosing Kentucky. This game had a little bit more juice in it for him than the others. Maybe some time away helped him get out of whatever mental funk had been bogging him down.

“Justin is in the best frame of mind he’s been in since he’s been here and it’s really good to see,” Freshman Reed Sheppard said postgame. “He’s smiling, he’s having fun, every day he’s in the gym, he’s playing, he’s doing whatever it takes to get better and he’s not giving up on himself or the team. He’s gonna keep fighting, keep doing what it takes.”

Following the loss, Edwards was selected to do the postgame radio interview with Jack “Goose” Givens. The normally tight-lipped freshman didn’t need to have answers squeezed out of him. That was also apparent on Friday when he did the pregame press conference and was smiling his way through conversations with reporters. He’s having more fun than he was early in the season.

“I see him every day in the gym working,” Sophomore Adou Thiero said of Edwards. “He’s grinding, he’s trying to break through. I’m gonna stick with him. That’s my brother, so I’m gonna stick with him. I know he’s gonna do it. At the end, everything will be fine.”

It’s still not too late for that lightbulb moment to go off for Edwards. Kentucky sure could use it too, especially if he can lock in on defense and provide a much-needed spark for his team on that end of the floor. He’ll still need to contribute more on offense moving forward than he did against Tennessee, but his performance was certainly a step in the right direction.

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