Why No Love For BJ Edwards?

#1
VolFreakJosh

VolFreakJosh

“Don’t you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby!”
Joined
Feb 2, 2013
Messages
27,058
Likes
67,474
#1
I think a lot of our fans are underestimating BJ Edwards nor is he getting talked about much.

Obviously everyone wants Kennedy Chandler to come back next year, even though the chances are slim to none. However, I don’t think he’s irreplaceable.

Edwards may not be as quick as Chandler but he’s a 6’3 guard who can get to the rim and spread the floor. I mean, the knock on Chandler and ZZ, was their size so it won’t hurt to have a bigger guard on the roster.

I’m not saying he’s going to be better than Chandler but I think his potential is being overlooked. I can definitely see him getting quality minutes next year.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Stoked, Willy14, DooleyOrangePants and 18 others
#2
#2
I’m very excited about Edwards, and he is a huge talent. But, I think he is mostly being overlooked because he will be a freshmen and freshmen take time to season.

Maschack and Aidoo were both at some point Top 50 players in their class. BHH was Top 10 before reclassifying. I only throw out the rankings to underscore how even amazing talents can take quite a bit of time to find themselves, particularly a point guard.

Chandler was a special talent who will be hard to replace. I’ve been talking about needing an extra ball handler because we all saw how turnovers were an issue for us at times this year, and expecting a true freshmen point guard that isn’t the talent that Chandler is to come in and give us 20-28 minutes a game seems like asking a lot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Willy14, Unconditional Surrender, DooleyOrangePants and 13 others
#3
#3
No knock at all. I believe people know what they know versus what they don’t.

BJ is going to be a great Vol.

I think Rick Barnes is one of the great player developmental coaches out there.

Whether KC stays or goes, BJ Edwards has the skillset to play meaningful minutes.

The question will be:
- Conditioning
- Work ethic
- Consistency

I’m not suggesting he’s out of shape, or lazy, or inconsistent.

I’m just observing that these traits are what put you in the floor for a Barnes team
 
  • Like
Reactions: Willy14, VOLnBama01, Vol Fan in MD and 9 others
#5
#5
We may be happier to have had ZZ than Chandler when it's all said and done. Maybe this new kid won't be quite as good but will give us a few years of great guard play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#9
#9
I love ZZ but if people think Tennessee can play a 5-8 PG full time and opponents won’t attack him are naive. Opponents focused on SV & KC this year. Their approach will change next year.

ZZ wasn’t the focus of most, if any, opponents this year but he will next year if he’s the PG 35 minutes by himself. Tennessee will need Edwards to play a lot of time at PG.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nickid1975 and Vols All Day
#10
#10
See the first KY game. They used our small guards.

Now a guard needs to be relatively tall And built like a defensive back in strength.

Mashack, QD and Edwards all will be good ones. I like Powell as well if he gains some strength and stays
 
#11
#11
wmcovol said:
I love ZZ but if people think Tennessee can play a 5-8 PG full time and opponents won’t attack him are naive. Opponents focused on SV & KC this year. Their approach will change next year.

ZZ wasn’t the focus of most, if any, opponents this year but he will next year if he’s the PG 35 minutes by himself. Tennessee will need Edwards to play a lot of time at PG.
Click to expand...
If he could develop his game like Kay Felder, we would be golden. Not sure if anyone remembers him but he played for Oakland a few years ago and was a really good player for them. He was the same height but had about 10 pounds on ZZ. I’m sure once ZZ goes through the off-season S&C program he could be around the same 175ish. But that’s someone he could kind of model his game around.
 
#12
#12
UneducatedGuess said:
No knock at all. I believe people know what they know versus what they don’t.

BJ is going to be a great Vol.

I think Rick Barnes is one of the great player developmental coaches out there.

Whether KC stays or goes, BJ Edwards has the skillset to play meaningful minutes.

The question will be:
- Defense
- Conditioning
- Work ethic
- Consistency

I’m not suggesting he’s out of shape, or lazy, or inconsistent.

I’m just observing that these traits are what put you in the floor for a Barnes team
Click to expand...
Added one adjustment to the above list.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JelloPuddinPup and UneducatedGuess
#13
#13
bj will be a beast by the time he leaves Tennessee. him and zz will be killer together over the next 3 years. plus it’s always nice having a 6’4 PG
 
#14
#14
wmcovol said:
I love ZZ but if people think Tennessee can play a 5-8 PG full time and opponents won’t attack him are naive. Opponents focused on SV & KC this year. Their approach will change next year.

ZZ wasn’t the focus of most, if any, opponents this year but he will next year if he’s the PG 35 minutes by himself. Tennessee will need Edwards to play a lot of time at PG.
Click to expand...
Yea tru. KC and SV took all the pressure off ZZ he literally just came in to disrupt the opponents and get some buckets here and there.
Like op stated if KC leaves and ZZ ends up being our starting pg it’s gonna be a big learning curve for the sophomore , probably more then his freshmen season.
But my opionion on the original ops post about edwards, no way does he replace chandler. I’ve never seen a freshman pg come in and be able to get to the rim like KC did. Tennessee fans need to lower their expectations a little for the next few pgs at least.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TMvol10
#15
#15
Edwards is a good get, UT will be able to run the 3 guard offense with him and not have a lot of drop off. I think the team next year could be even better!
 
#16
#16
He looks very fluid and quick. I just would like to see him get back on defense after making a bucket instead of posing.
 
#18
#18
SonOfGodVolforlife said:
Yea tru. KC and SV took all the pressure off ZZ he literally just came in to disrupt the opponents and get some buckets here and there.
Like op stated if KC leaves and ZZ ends up being our starting pg it’s gonna be a big learning curve for the sophomore , probably more then his freshmen season.
But my opionion on the original ops post about edwards, no way does he replace chandler. I’ve never seen a freshman pg come in and be able to get to the rim like KC did. Tennessee fans need to lower their expectations a little for the next few pgs at least.
Click to expand...
Agree. Haven't seen a ton of tape on him, but the drop in quickness is very apparent. I'm also a little concerned with his handle. Good thing is he won't face anyone quicker than ZZ but he's facing a huge jump in competition in this conference. Remains to be seen how well or quickly he adjusts. I expect us take take a couple of steps back unless we get help in the post and become more athletic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#19
#19
Who said there is NO LOVE for BJE? If by that you mean the majority doubt that he's the same caliber at KC, then that's not a very good definition of NO LOVE.
 
#20
#20
CAVPUT said:
Agree. Haven't seen a ton of tape on him, but the drop in quickness is very apparent. I'm also a little concerned with his handle. Good thing is he won't face anyone quicker than ZZ but he's facing a huge jump in competition in this conference. Remains to be seen how well or quickly he adjusts. I expect us take take a couple of steps back unless we get help in the post and become more athletic.
Click to expand...
This is exactly where my outlook is as well. Whether its a five star or not...its most difficult to know how they will respond on this level as freshmen. As stated KC was extremely talented (obviously) and made things more difficult for defense with his abilities to get to the rim consistently. BUT...IMO...if we don't have a huge jump in player development in the 4-5 spot next year(and I firmly believe we will) then the PG spot will be limited no matter who runs the point. JMO...here's hoping BJE can move quickly past the barriers to be an effective PG for us....
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo and SlyStone
#22
#22
Alot to like about BJ. No he is not as quick as KC but one place he excels at is physical play finishing through contact. I can see him playing off ball wing with ZZ handling and being able to make plays at the rim. KC is the best true point we have had since CJ Watson but even more talented than CJ. In CHRIST Alone
 
  • Like
Reactions: Willy14, walkenvol and chuckiepoo
#23
#23
If Edwards can fulfill the role that Zeigler had this year, we will be more than fine. Zeigler is going to be our starting PG next year in all likelihood.

I would really like to see at least two of Powell, Mashack, and Q to step up and play meaningful minutes. Jo is going to spend a lot of time at the 4 again next year, so we are going to need some quality guards with the loss of Chandler (probably). I also assume Bailey leaves. I hope Brandon and Aidoo can step up to replace Fulky's minutes and in theory some of Uros. While I think Uros is a decent player, he just isn't quick enough or skilled enough to play heavy minutes in the SEC. He still has a role.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SlyStone
#25
#25
Outside of YouTube I haven't seen much of BJ, but I suspect he will only see floor time if he bust it on the defensive end.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top