By Marc Raimondi
Dave Edwards was a superstar. The 5-foot-9 whirling dervish of a guard out of Andrew Jackson HS was one of the best players at his position to ever come out of Queens. In the early '90s, the debate was always who was better: Edwards or Molloy's Kenny Anderson?
Edwards went to Georgetown after averaging 41 points per game at Jackson, then transferred to Texas A&M for his sophomore season after disagreements with then-coach John Thompson. He was a leading candidate in 1994 for the Francis Pomeroy Naismith, given to the best senior in the country under 6-feet tall.
But as successful as Edwards was as a school-boy point guard, he wants his son to be the exact opposite.
“I just tell him that most of the stuff I was doing was wrong,” Edwards said. “I tell him to do it right.”
You see, Dave Edwards was flashy. He had style. He knew all the tricks that would wow crowds at the Rucker. But he regrets not being a true point guard, a complete player. He doesn't want his son to make the same mistake.
“My father wants me to be the complete opposite of him,” said Corey Edwards, currently a freshman at Christ the King. “He was arrogant. He wants me to be like a simple point guard, running the team.”
Corey Edwards sat out this entire season with torn ligaments in his left shoulder. Had he played on the Royals freshman team, he would have been one of the best ninth-grade guards in the city. This summer he's playing AAU with the New Heights young team, which took the Playaz Seniors to the wire in the first round of the IS 8 playoffs Saturday in South Jamaica. The Playaz, one of the favorites to win the legendary spring tournament, feature players from St. Anthony of Jersey City, the country's best team, including McDonald's All-American Mike Rosario.
Rosario hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to give the Playaz the lead and Edwards missed a running three-point try of his own as time expired. It certainly won't be the last time he'll play against and with incredible competition. Edwards figures to play right away at Christ the King next year with the graduation of Florida-bound Erving Walker.
“He's my kind of point guard, an old-school, true point guard a pass-first guy,” said Royals coach Bob Oliva, who added that Edwards is more physically developed than current St. John's and former CK guard Malik Boothe was as a freshman.
Edwards has also taken advantage of some Christ the King luxuries. He's using the school's state-of-the-art weight room to rehab his shoulder and also has the ear of assistant coaches Derrick Phelps and Khalid Reeves, both terrific former CK guards. He's also taken the advice of Boothe and Walker.
And, of course, there's his dad, too, who couldn't be more proud his son following in his footsteps.
“It's like a dream come true,” Dave Edwards said.
As long as Corey is nothing like him.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
