NCAA Basketball: Top 25 most impactful freshmen for 2019-20 season

5) Anthony Edwards, SG/PG, Georgia

Edwards is the No. 2 overall recruit in the country and the latest five-star prospect to play his college ball at a non-blueblood program, and that alone gives him the opportunity have far more of an impact than most of his fellow five-star freshmen.

However, Edwards’ importance to the Georgia program was increased when Nicolas Claxton announced he would be staying in the NBA Draft. Now, everything Tom Crean runs is going to go through their new star freshman.

Edwards appears to be up to the challenge, too. At 6-5 and 215 pounds, he has the perfect combination of size, strength, and explosive athleticism for a combo guard. He’ll play a lot of point for the Bulldogs as they’ll try to have the ball in his hands as much as possible, but Edwards is at his best as a scorer. He’s still a good passer and shows off his vision at times, yet his athleticism and shooting ability makes him virtually unguardable.

Georgia will be able to give Edwards some help – there are four other top-100 prospects in this incoming recruiting class – and those players will be key for the Bulldogs if they’re going to come close to making the NCAA Tournament.

Yet their relative success, or failure, in 2019-20 will come down to the guy who may end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.