Georgia men’s basketball freshman Anthony Edwards has been added to the midseason top 25 list for college basketball’s John R. Wooden Award. The honor is given out annually to the collegiate basketball National Player of the Year.

The star freshman has been an outstanding scoring presence for the Bulldogs through the first half of his collegiate career. His career opened with a 24-point outing against the Western Carolina Catamounts. That debut was the second-highest by a Georgia freshman behind only Dominique Wilkins.

Edwards was named to the preseason All-American team and is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 18.7 points per game after 14 contests. He has scored in double figures in 11 of 14 games and he ranks third in scoring in the SEC and second among all NCAA Division I freshmen.

Edwards has scored 20 or more points in seven of his first 14 games, highlighted by a 33-point outburst in the second half against Michigan State at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. He finished the game with 37 points, marking the most points scored by a freshman at Georgia in 45 years.

Helping the Bulldogs to a 10-4 record, Edwards is also a candidate for the Naismith and NABC National Player of the Year award, as well as the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

The Wooden Award All American Team will be unveiled during the Elite Eight round at the NCAA Tournament. The winner will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10.

Previous winners of the award include Larry Bird (‘79), Michael Jordan (‘84), Tim Duncan (‘97), Kevin Durant (‘07) and Zion Williamson (‘19).

Edwards’ Bulldogs travel to take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, Jan. 11. Auburn is at the top of the SEC with an undefeated 14-0 record.

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