Sports

SUPER 6: Chris Edwards, Westover

• Westover High School senior Chris Edwards dodges the typical physique of a Division I college prospect, but in leading the Westover Patriots to a 15-2 record and No. 7 state ranking in Class AAA, he’s shaking the stereotype to produce a …

Impressive body of work

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — Four years ago, Westover coach Dallis Smith first heard about Chris Edwards. A group of coaches were discussing him.

Smith peered to the gym floor and spotted the awkward, lanky object of the conversation.

“Who?,” Smith recalls saying. “That little bowlegged guy down there?”

Almost immediately, one of the coaches turned back to Smith.

“He said, ‘Coach,’” Smith continued, “‘that guy can play.’”

On Wednesday, Smith again stares ahead, looking at the 6-foot, 165-pound senior — still skinny by any standards. Watching Edwards’ endless arms swinging well down his bowlegs, flowing toward the rim, Smith remembers exactly what he needs to say about the current offensive star of his 15-2 Patriots.

“As a coach, a player like him is the reason we do this,” Smith said. “He has matured and developed into an incredible young man. Even if it weren’t for basketball, he will be successful at whatever he does.”

For now, what Edwards does is defy perception.

To call him slender would insult Webster and his dictionary. Weaving smoothly between jokes, Edwards laughs because his favorite sport is football. Not surprisingly, a linebacker broke his collarbone when he was in junior high.

“The kid looked at my helmet and said ‘Welcome to the NFL,’ ” he said, cracking up. “I didn’t want to play basketball because I loved football, then after that I decided to play basketball.”

Smart move.

Even so, he recognizes his unusual body structure and self-titled “grandpa walk” it produces draws dismissive first impressions.

“All the time,” he said. “Sometimes people say I can’t play because I am bowlegged.”

No problem for Edwards. He relishes the doubters. He dares them to underestimate him.

Just as his coach did, the competition soon finds out the undeniable truth: this guy can play.

Edwards is currently averaging a team-high 20 points a game for Westover, which is 6-1 in region and ranked No. 7 in the state in Class AAA.

In the season’s most crucial moments, the Patriots players — and even Smith — have turned to Edwards to take over.

In a win against Dougherty, Edwards poured in 11 of his 23 points in the final minutes of the team’s signature win to this point.

Even in its lone region loss, a 68-67 defeat at Worth County, Edwards latched his struggling teammates to his back and dropped six 3-pointers and 23 points in the second half to nearly pull off the victory.

“Chris is an excellent player,” junior Greg Green said. “We look up to him because he is a senior, but sometimes he just amazes me.”

The air of respect from teammates drapes as clearly around his hunched shoulders as the No. 15 jersey on game nights.

It provides a clear change from the player who was named to The Herald All-Area First Team as a junior and the one who embraced his role of co-captain with teammate Jason Jones with the same aggression he does an opening in the lane this season.

That transformation required more than an attacking mindset on the court, rather an attacking mindset in life.

“I realized you can’t go anywhere without grades,” Edwards said. “I can easily tear my ACL and my career will be over with. Regardless, if I wasn’t playing basketball I would still be getting good grades. I just got focused.”

His latest focus in an attempt to guide Westover to a state title, turns to next season. He has showcased Division I talent, yet criticism remains.

Where recruiters questioned his grades, Edwards settled into all A’s and B’s and, as long as that pace continues, will easily earn him qualification.

Where critics questioned his size, Edwards hit the weights to gain 15 pounds this off-season and currently bench presses 200 pounds.

“I worked hard,” Edwards said with an understated grin. “People don’t realize this, but I am strong.”

His work has flashed a bright blip on the Division I radar. A scout from Jacksonville University has become a regular courtside at Patriots games, along with a junior-college scout from Okaloosa-Walton.

No offers have been made and talks are preliminary. But, for Smith, he can’t understand why more schools aren’t standing outside the locker room after games.

“If he’s not D-I, than I have to ask these coaches,” said Smith, admitting an anticipated playoff run could increase his exposure, “What are you all looking for?”

Apparently, they weren’t looking for the lanky, bowlegged kid barely touching 6-foot.

But with every 3-pointer, block, assist and game-winning basket, Edwards chips away at the judgmental first impression and leaves a fresh, lasting view in the mind of opponents: that kid can play.

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