David Edwards (basketball)

Edwards was born in Richmond, Virginia and moved to New York City before high school, living in public housing.[1] and played at Andrew Jackson High School under coach Chuck Granby.[2][3] At Jackson he averaged 41 points per game as a senior.[4] His 947 points during that season was a New York City scoring record.[3] He was considered to be one of the best players to ever come out of Queens, New York. His ability led to debate as to whether or not he was better than future NBA player Kenny Anderson. Edwards played streetball at Rucker Park and was known to impress the crowd.[4] He committed to Georgetown over offers from Iowa and Loyola Marymount.[3]

Edwards played initially at Georgetown University, where he averaged 5.4 points per game as a freshman.[2] He posted 14 assists in this first game.[1] Through his first 12 games Edwards led the Hoyas with 89 assists.[3] He experienced disagreements with coach John Thompson and transferred.[4] This disagreement was based on Thompson focusing on big men such as Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo, and Edwards later admitted was immature and was not "a complete player."[5]

Edwards transferred to play at Texas A&M under Kermit Davis, but Davis resigned after one season due to recruiting violations. Davis was replaced as head coach by Tony Barone, and Edwards needed time to adjust to the coach's structured offense.[6] As a senior, he averaged 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game.[1] He was one of six players to post a triple-double on consecutive games on March 5, and March 10, 1994. His 265 assists as a senior remain a school record.[7] During his senior season at Texas A&M, he was the runner-up for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the best senior in the country under 6-feet tall.[5] Edwards was a three-time All-Southwest Conference selection. During his career at Texas A&M, he tallied 1,167 points, 602 assists and 228 steals, and he was the school's assists and steals leader until 2016 when he was surpassed by Alex Caruso.[1][8]

Edwards began his professional basketball career in Lithuania on BC Šilutė.[9] He signed with KR in the Icelandic league in October 1996 and played one season.[10]

Edwards served as a recreation manager at the non-profit organization Elmcor Youth and Services Activities. He coached basketball at The Mary Louis Academy in Queens.[1]

His father, Dave Edwards was a 4 year player and a 3 year captain at Virginia Commonwealth University.[11][5] He had two sons, David and Corey. Corey played basketball at George Mason and coaches at Montverde Academy.[1]

Edwards died of COVID-19 on March 24, 2020.[7]

• David Edwards College Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com