Justin Edwards picks Kentucky

After making it heavily known that the staff at UK wanted him in blue and white, Justin Edwards has made his decision. John Calipari was able to close the deal and gain the commitment of a top-five player in the class of 2023.

On Monday, 6-foot-7 standout wing Justin Edwards, from Philadelphia (PA) announced his intentions to come play for Calipari in Lexington. He made the call live on CBS Sports HQ.

The race came down to the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers with the Cats having just enough in the tank to close the deal. Over the past week or so, buzz began growing that Edwards would in fact be heading to Kentucky and not Tennessee.

Recently the No. 3 player in the entire Class of 2023 told 247 Sports that it was a tight race.

“Everything stands out about both of them, they are the two that have been recruiting me the hardest.” Edwards said.

Last week, predictions began flooding in for Kentucky to be Edwards’ landing spot.

Much has been made of Calipari’s philosophy of waiting to offer top prospects and the poor results it has produced in some instances. But this spring and summer have been different — coach Cal is looking like his vintage self and in the midst of putting together one hell of a class.

Gaining the commitment of an extremely talented player like Edwards is a complete game-changer and should be celebrated as such.

At 6-foot-7, he can see the floor and is vicious when it comes to attacking the basket. Edwards has a strong reel of highlight dunks that make it easy to see why he’s being projected as a future NBA Draft selection.

But don’t overlook Edwards’ ability to get hot from deep and drill jumper after jumper from anywhere on the court. We’ve really seen him expand his offense on the AAU circuit this year, as he’s now a legitimate contender for the top spot in the class of 2023.

UK fans will get the pleasure of watching another smooth, left-handed operator when Edwards arrives in Lexington. He has a high release and no problem getting his shot off quickly.

Adding Edwards to the fold means the Cats are getting a versatile scoring option who has the ability to take over a game at any given point. He has budding potential as a lock-down perimeter defender as well.

Now, check out some highlights of the newest Cat in action.

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