ATLANTA — The nation's top-ranked high school basketball player announced Monday morning that he'll sign with Georgia. Anthony Edwards, a 6-foot-5 guard from Holy Spirit Prep who's known as Ant-Man, chose the Bulldogs over Florida State, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Speaking at a press briefing at the school off Northside Drive, Edwards said, “I’ll be playing college basketball at the University of Georgia.” Then he donned a red UGA cap.
“This is HUGE for Georgia,” said Tysor Anderson, Holy Spirit’s coach. He added: “One of the reasons Anthony hit it off with coach Crean is because he coached two of his favorite players” – meaning Dwyane Wade, who led Marquette to the 2003 Final Four, and Victor Oladipo, who helped Indiana reach the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2013.
PHOTOS: Nation's top basketball recruit Anthony Edwards picks UGA
Georgia has attracted highly ranked players before – Dominique Wilkins and Vern Fleming were massively sought – but they arrived in Athens to play for Hugh Durham 40 or so years ago. The decades since have seen the Bulldogs struggle to land top in-state products, which was a key reason the school fired Mark Fox last spring and hired Tom Crean, who’d coached Marquette and Indiana.
Asked his projection for Georgia next season, Edwards said: “National championship.”