When then-17-year-old Anthony Edwards unzipped his nephew Jace’s jacket to reveal a red Georgia T-shirt on Feb. 11, 2019, his commitment seemed too good to be true. Georgia, which notoriously lacks pedigree on the hardwood, signed the top high school basketball player in the state of Georgia and one of the best in the country.

Edwards was the first No. 1-rated men’s basketball recruit from Georgia to sign with the Bulldogs since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2011. If he chose to sign with Florida State or Kentucky, Edwards would have joined a long list of in-state recruits who got away from Georgia.

Kentucky point guard Ashton Hagans, Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams and retired NBA legend Dale Ellis all have a commonality — they’re from Georgia and went out of state for college or straight to the NBA. They represent just a few examples where the Bulldogs were overlooked by in-state recruits. Edwards didn’t disregard Georgia. Instead, he took a risk and stayed home.

“Anthony Edwards fits,” Crean said prior to the start of the season on Nov. 4. “He’s from Georgia. He’s hungry. He has a desire to get better, all those types of things. It was a great thing for us to have somebody like that that would take a chance on the program in the first year with that kind of stature.”

The odds of Edwards coming back for a sophomore year to continue to rebuild Georgia’s program are slim to none, however. Assuming Edwards enters the 2020 NBA draft and no other freshman enters the transfer portal, Crean will still have a promising roster to develop. He’ll have eight sophomores from Georgia’s top 10 2019 recruiting class, Rayshaun Hammonds in his final year of eligibility and another freshman class on the way.

Edwards’ decision to come to Georgia will help Crean bring in new talent for the future despite a flawed freshman year. His lively presence and highlight-reel potential have given Georgia fans a reason to come out to Stegeman Coliseum in droves. Even so, there’s still a general sense of frustration as Edwards’ time with the Bulldogs is quickly waning.

Those frustrations aren’t unfounded, especially with embarrassing losses like the one against Missouri when Georgia gave up a 20-point lead. There were other confusing losses to Ole Miss and others, but the 2019-20 season is just Crean’s second at the helm. It took him three seasons to take Marquette to the NCAA tournament and four seasons to do the same at Indiana.

When Crean’s given time, he has the ability to succeed. He helped take Marquette to the Final Four and Indiana to three Sweet 16 appearances. He’s developed plenty of NBA-caliber players, like Victor Oladipo and Dwyane Wade. But most importantly, Crean brings the energy back into the programs.

Georgia has one of the most passionate — and demanding — fanbases in college sports. As Crean’s young crop of players struggle to adjust and show growing pains, just remember how extensive Crean’s track record is. Even if the Anthony Edwards era ends unsuccessfully, know that his decision to come to Georgia nearly one year ago will open more doors than it’ll close.

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports