University of Tennessee Athletics

Local Top-70 Prospect B.J. Edwards Signs With Tennessee Basketball
November 14, 2021 | Men's Basketball
Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Sunday that local guard B.J. Edwards has signed with the University of Tennessee.
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Edwards, a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School, is rated as the nation's No. 10 point guard and the No. 69 overall prospect in the country by 247Sports.com.
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"B.J. is a player we've known for a long time, and he's a winner," Barnes said. "He's a complete guard who can impact the game in multiple ways. He plays with a lot of confidence and great pace. He also defends at a high level, which is an attribute we value. He's always been an efficient scorer, but he also makes his teammates better as a distributor.
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"We think B.J. has a chance to blossom into one of the best all-around guards in the SEC if he continues to work hard and buys into our player development program. Keeping him here in Knoxville has been a priority for us."
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Edwards had been committed to Tennessee since July. A Knoxville native, he is coached at Catholic by longtime Fighting Irish head coach Michael Hutchens.
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During his junior season in 2020-21, Edwards led Catholic to a 21-4 record and state semifinal appearance—averaging 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Edwards was named the 2021 TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Basketball, becoming the first player in Catholic's history to earn the award. He was also named 2020-21 MaxPreps Tennessee High School Basketball Player of the Year.
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As a sophomore in 2019-20, Edwards led the Fighting Irish to the Division II-AA state championship—the school's first ever state title. In the state championship game, Edwards scored 14 points to lead Catholic past a Briarcrest Christian team that featured current Vol Kennedy Chandler. For that 2019-20 campaign, Edwards averaged 19.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game and was named a finalist for 2020 TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Basketball—an award ultimately won by Chandler.
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Edwards also led the Fighting Irish in scoring and assists as a freshman and sophomore at Catholic.
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During his first three seasons at Catholic, Edwards was teammates with current Vol Handje Tamba, who reclassified from the 2022 class to the 2021 class in July.
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Including Tamba, Edwards is now the fourth Knoxville native to sign a scholarship with the Vols during the Rick Barnes era. Edwards is Tennessee's first signee in the Class of 2022.
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Edwards played his AAU ball with the BMaze Elite program, founded by former Tennessee point guard Bobby Maze (2008-10).
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Edwards, a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School, is rated as the nation's No. 10 point guard and the No. 69 overall prospect in the country by 247Sports.com.
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"B.J. is a player we've known for a long time, and he's a winner," Barnes said. "He's a complete guard who can impact the game in multiple ways. He plays with a lot of confidence and great pace. He also defends at a high level, which is an attribute we value. He's always been an efficient scorer, but he also makes his teammates better as a distributor.
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"We think B.J. has a chance to blossom into one of the best all-around guards in the SEC if he continues to work hard and buys into our player development program. Keeping him here in Knoxville has been a priority for us."
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Edwards had been committed to Tennessee since July. A Knoxville native, he is coached at Catholic by longtime Fighting Irish head coach Michael Hutchens.
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During his junior season in 2020-21, Edwards led Catholic to a 21-4 record and state semifinal appearance—averaging 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Edwards was named the 2021 TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Basketball, becoming the first player in Catholic's history to earn the award. He was also named 2020-21 MaxPreps Tennessee High School Basketball Player of the Year.
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As a sophomore in 2019-20, Edwards led the Fighting Irish to the Division II-AA state championship—the school's first ever state title. In the state championship game, Edwards scored 14 points to lead Catholic past a Briarcrest Christian team that featured current Vol Kennedy Chandler. For that 2019-20 campaign, Edwards averaged 19.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game and was named a finalist for 2020 TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Basketball—an award ultimately won by Chandler.
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Edwards also led the Fighting Irish in scoring and assists as a freshman and sophomore at Catholic.
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During his first three seasons at Catholic, Edwards was teammates with current Vol Handje Tamba, who reclassified from the 2022 class to the 2021 class in July.
Â
Including Tamba, Edwards is now the fourth Knoxville native to sign a scholarship with the Vols during the Rick Barnes era. Edwards is Tennessee's first signee in the Class of 2022.
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Edwards played his AAU ball with the BMaze Elite program, founded by former Tennessee point guard Bobby Maze (2008-10).
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