NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Top 2019 recruit Anthony Edwards eliminates Kansas

2019 prospect Anthony Edwards has scheduled two more official visits to FSU and UNC. With Kansas now off the list, who’s the new favorite?

Consensus 2019 top-four recruit Anthony Edwards recently decided that the University of Kansas is too far away from his home. So, the Atlanta, Georgia, native has removed the Jayhawks from consideration. Edwards canceled his official to Lawrence (Kan.) that was slated for Feb. 9, instead, he will make trips to North Carolina and Florida State, according to Evan Daniels of 247Sports.  He said that he is now just considering UNC, FSU, Kentucky, and Georgia.

The 6-foot-5 wing will visit Chapel Hill from Feb. 4-6 and while there he will take in the Tar Heels game against N.C. State on Feb.5. Edwards then will visit Tallahassee (Feb.9) a few days later where he will watch the Seminoles host Louisville.

The Holy Spirit Prep star, who officially visited Georgia on Dec. 1, made the hour and a half trek down to Athens to visit with the Bulldogs last weekend a few days after taking an official visit to Kentucky (Jan. 21). He talked to Daniels about his those two trips.

“It was great,” Edwards said of the visit to Georgia where he saw the Bulldogs defeat Texas 98-88 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. “They won, the crowd was into it, everyone was into it. Every time a player would hit a shot they would look at me. So it was a great atmosphere.”

Georgia entered conference play on a three-game winning streak and an 8-4 record overall, but the Dawgs have since lost seven of nine with their only SEC win coming at home against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs (10-11) have lost all six of their seven league games by double-digits.

While in Lexington, Edwards met with coach John Calipari and athletic director Mitch Barnhart. He also toured the campus and dorms as well as took in the Wildcats’ victory over Miss State on Jan. 22.

“It was great,” Edwards said of the visit. “It was a great atmosphere, the game and the fans at the game kept saying ‘We want Ant.’ Coach Cal is a great dude. Kenny Payne is a great dude and I’m really close with Ashton [Hagans] and Tyler Herro.”

Kentucky (18-3) has run off eight straight wins, which includes victories over top-25 teams Auburn, Miss State, and Kansas.

Edwards has a scorer’s mentality although he is also an excellent rebounder and solid decision-maker. He remains as the top-ranked prospect in the class of 2019 by 247Sports. However, Edwards has moved up to the second spot in both 247Sports Composite and Rivals‘ list and down a spot to No. 5 in ESPN‘s rankings.

Where will he end up?

Georgia is still the favorite to win Edwards’ services, but I believe that Kentucky is a very close second if not 1A. FSU is still very much involved due to his affection for the program and probably can nab him if the Wildcats decide to sign others.  Carolina remains a distant fourth.

Georgia: The Bulldogs have already inked a pair of 2019 recruits Jaykwon Walton and Toumani Camara to national letters of intent. As it stands now, Georgia has two scholarships remaining and seven open offers. 6-foot-3 point guard Tony Johnson is said to be Georgia’s top target. While 6-foot-7 forward Christian Brown and 6-foot-5 shooting guard Nivon Glover, as well as Edwards, are their other priorities.

Point guard is a huge need for the Bulldogs as former three-star recruit Teshaun Hightower and 2016 top-80 recruit Tyree Crump being their leading options next season. Neither one is an appealing option as a point guard.  Junior Jordan Harris along with freshmen Tye Fagan and Ignas Sarguinas are also projected to be on the roster but they are more suited for the two-guard. Fagan could develop into a decent point guard.

Wing is not as pressing a need as starter Raushaun Hammonds as well as seldom-used freshman Jojo Toppin is expected to return. Walton and Camera are also wings as is Brown.

Kentucky: The Wildcats are a little tougher to figure out as they generally lose at least one player early to the NBA draft. UK has signed two players, five-star guard Tyrese Maxey, and four-star small forward Dontaie Allen, from the class of 2019. The Wildcats have also received a verbal commitment from 5-star wing Kahlil Whitney. That leaves them with two scholarships available and three open offers to top-prospects Matthew Hurt, Jaden McDaniels, and Keion Brooks Jr.

FSU: While the Seminoles has been considered the favorites for Edwards, they don’t have any scholarships available. Of course, unless something changes, as they have already signed four players to national letters of intent and have received a verbal commitment from another. Three of the players– Patrick Williams (LOI), Zimife Nwokeji (VC), and Juco transfer Nathanaell Jack (LOI) — are wings. The other two players who have signed with the program are centers Naheem McLeod and  Balša Koprivica.

UNC: The Tar Heels have signed two players to national letters of intent from the class of 2019, four-star point guard Jeremiah Francis and five-star power forward Armando Bacot. But they still have a scholarship left with four open offers to Anthony, Hurt, Precious Achiuwa and Brooks.

According to Akil Guruparan of Tar Heels Blog, Brooks appears to be the favorite to snatch the last scholarship offer.