Top UNC basketball target scores 27 in front of Roy Williams on Thursday

Nation’s top shooting guard shows out at Chick-fil-A Classic on Thursday in front of Roy Williams

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams was in Richland County, South Carolina on Thursday to watch one of the Tar Heels’ top prospects in the class of 2019.

Williams was in attendance for the 2018 Chick-fil-A Classic where five-star shooting guard Anthony Edwards was on the court with Holy Spirit Preparatory School. Edwards — who recently reclassified from the 2020 class to 2019 —  has become one of the most sought after amateur players in the country, particularly since his reclassification.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Edwards, who hails from Atlanta, Georgia, was among the top prospects in the 2020 class before joining the 2019 class, where he is ranked fourth overall according to the 247Sports Composite. And despite speculation that Edwards — who ranks first in the class among shooting guards and in the state of Georgia — would circumvent the collegiate level and go straight to the NBA G-League, he’s remained adamant about playing college hoops next season.

With Williams sitting court side, as well as an assistant coach with the Georgia Bulldogs, Edwards shined during bracket play on Thursday. He scored 27 points in a first round loss to Bella Vista College Prep. It was the second time in as many weeks that he scored 27 points in front of Williams, who was also in Washington D.C. for Edwards’ performance at the ARS Rescue Rooter DC National Hoopfest on the second weekend in December.

Edwards is a gifted natural scorer, who’s most comfortable, and effective, when using his athleticism and explosive first step to drive the lane. He is, however, a very capable shooter from all over the court, and should be a serviceable three-point shooter at the college level.

Edwards took his first official visit to Georgia on December 1st, and he’s currently planning visits to other programs within his top-8. Georgia and North Carolina are joined on that list by Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and UCLA.

Since each of the eight schools will not get an official visit from Edwards, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles his visits, as well as potentially reducing the number of teams on his list over the next few months.

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