Kentucky basketball's Justin Edwards starts to show glimpses of greatness as Cats roll

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No questions surrounding the 2023-24 Kentucky basketball team have lingered longer than the ones centered on Justin Edwards.

When will Edwards, the player considered the crown jewel of the Wildcats’ top-ranked freshman class, finally get going? When will he showcase the traits that made some proclaim he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft? Will it ever come to pass?

The longer his spate of forgettable games continued this season, the more doubts crept in — from outsiders, anyway — that Edwards might not live up to the lofty hype that accompanied him when he arrived in Lexington.

He took a small step toward reestablishing himself Tuesday against Vanderbilt, posting a career-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting (1 for 3 on 3s) and sinking all six of his free-throw attempts.

Edwards, along with five other double-digit scorers, helped No. 15 UK power past Vandy, 109-77, at Memorial Gymnasium.

"We're trying to get Justin to play a little bit different, and it's helping him," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "(He'd say), 'You don't understand my game.' (I'd reply), 'I do. That's why I'm getting you to just do it this way.' He's a difference-maker."

Calipari played coy when pressed for specifics about his advice to Edwards.

"We'll call it 'a tweak,'" Calipari said. "How about that? It's a tweak."

Edwards, for his part, was more forthcoming.

"He wants me to create for others," said Edwards, who had a personal-best three assists Tuesday. "Like the second half, I came out like looking to pass, and everybody else got me shots just off of me looking to pass to them to get them shots."

A Philadelphia native, Edwards came through on a night Kentucky (16-6, 6-4 SEC) was missing 40% of its starting lineup. Senior forward Tre Mitchell sat out with a sore back, while freshman guard D.J. Wagner was sidelined with an ankle ailment. But the players the Wildcats had on hand were more than enough to dispatch the Commodores (6-16, 1-8), who finally got into the win column in conference play last week versus Missouri.

Edwards' breakout performance didn't come in the manner of, say, Rob Dillingham, where he caught fire and knocked down shot after shot from long range. Nor was it an effort akin to Ugonna Onyenso taking over a game defensively with shot-blocking savvy.

Instead, Edwards picked his spots.

He pulled the trigger when he was open. He passed when he wasn't. And though he didn't pull down any rebounds, he notched two steals — one that led to arguably the highlight play of the game: a one-handed windmill dunk with a shade more than eight minutes remaining.

"When I picked the ball up, honestly," said Edwards, reflecting on when he determined what type of slam to employ. "It was like a last-second thing."

Edwards was far from the only Wildcat who excelled offensively, as five others scored at least 11 points: Antonio Reeves (a game-high 24), Dillingham (20), Jordan Burks (13), Aaron Bradshaw (12) and Zvonimir Ivišić (11). Tuesday marked the fourth time this season UK broke the 100-point barrier, as it made 55.4% (41 for 74) of its shots, including a 15-for-26 effort (57.7%) behind the 3-point line. If that weren't enough, the Wildcats also were a flawless 12 of 12 at the free-throw line, only the sixth time in program history they made that many without a miss.

Much of Tuesday's success at the charity stripe can be attributed to Edwards' excellence.

"I'm a good free-throw shooter, as y'all could see," Edwards said with a smile, referring to his 6-for-6 showing.

Ending a two-game losing streak, even if it came against one of the SEC's worst teams, was a much-needed boost for Kentucky heading into Saturday's high-profile nonconference tussle with Gonzaga. It just meant a little more to Edwards, who noted neither his teammates nor his coaches ever stopped believing in him.

After months of frustration for Edwards — prior to Tuesday, the last time he had a double-figure scoring output was versus Louisville on Dec. 21, when he had 13 — he finally has an outing to hang his hat on as UK hits the final stretch of the regular season.

"I knew (this type of game) was coming eventually," Reeves said of Edwards. "The practices (led) up to how he's playing now. I could tell he was ready to go. ... So it definitely feels good (to see) he came out there shooting it well and doing what he does."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Justin Edwards sets season-high scoring mark