John Calipari's product Justin Edwards becomes first top-3 recruit to go undrafted since 2003: REPORT
John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats saw Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham get picked in the lottery of the 2024 NBA Draft, marking a total of 43 first-round picks from the coach’s mentorship. However, Justin Edwards, a former five-star recruit from Imhotep Institute was undrafted in what was considered a relatively weak talent pool.
Edwards was later signed by the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way deal. However, his journey makes him the lone top-three recruit since 2003 to not have his name called in the draft, per Sean Paul of Field of 68.
Paul notes that he used 247Sports' rankings as his basis for which players were considered top-three recruits.
Nevertheless, Justin Edwards was not the only player to see his draft stock decline. Isaiah Collier, the five-star recruit rated amongst the best in the class, was picked at number 29 by the Jazz. Duke’s Kyle Filipowski faced a similar path, from being a solid top-10 candidate to being picked in the second round as 32nd overall.
However, Edwards’ situation is entirely different. He was once in the conversation of being the top pick in the draft. Now, he needs to prove his worth to his hometown team just to garner a guaranteed contract.
What does Justin Edwards' draft journey mean for John Calipari?
One of the biggest skills John Calipari brings to a program is elite high-school recruitment. And Justin Edwards came to Kentucky behind the same notion.
Justin Edwards has a decent skillset for a 6-foot-6 frame. He averaged 8.8 points on less than 7 shot attempts per game, shot 48.6% from the field while making nearly 37% of his low-volume threes.
There was certainly a lot more to be unlocked in the freshman's game. He also experienced inconsistent minutes due to a talented backcourt of Sheppard, Dillingham and Antonio Reeves and ranked sixth in usage.
With that, Edwards' failure to get a draft entry marks a mentorship stain on Calipari since the Kentucky player had three more years of eligibility remaining. Even when the Klutch Sports athlete bet on himself, there were signs of considering an early withdrawal which Calipari failed to notice.
While his 6-foot-10 wingspan was an upside in the combine, Edwards’ 32.5-inch vertical and uncertain agility numbers questioned his explosiveness, something that an extra college year could have erased.
Moreover, John Calipari’s recruiting/player development acumen is further questioned by five-star recruits DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw’s disappointing freshman seasons.