Hamilton鈥檚 Tre Edwards hoping for a resurgent year with UMBC basketball
HAMILTON, Ontario — While it鈥檚 certainly no secret that Hamilton, Ontario has bred some legitimate NBA prospects in recent years, there is one whose name may be lesser-known to the average fan: Tre Edwards.
Edwards was a top ten recruit in Canada for the class of 2019, playing alongside the likes of RJ Barrett with one of Canada鈥檚 premier AAU clubs, UPLAY, as well as with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker at Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School and Hamilton Heights Academy.
In fact, Edwards鈥� relationship with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is strong to this day, he constantly receives support from the young NBA superstar:
鈥淛ust playing with Shai was amazing, and seeing him go to Kentucky and play in the NBA has helped me a lot. You know, he always used to say that 鈥榡ust make sure you got a chance of making it.’鈥�
Coming out of high school with such acclaimed success earned him a variety of choices when it came to division one offers, but he had his sights set on campus in Akron, Ohio.
Much of his decision to commit to the University of Akron came down to the team鈥檚 head coach, John Groce, as well as the rest of his coaching staff and their persistence on scouting north of the border. Both Groce and his current assistant coach, Dustin Ford, had been recruiting in Canada for years and with Coach Rob Fulford having ties to the NBA鈥檚 Andrew Wiggins, they鈥檝e continued to scout out the area to this day.
Obviously, Ohio鈥檚 proximity to Edwards鈥� hometown certainly played a role as well, but he was more than prepared to take on a major role with Akron.
In his lone freshman season with the Zips, he played in just five games averaging less than two points per outing. However, he did manage to snag MVP honors after leading the team to the Chick-Fil A-Tournament title.
Regardless, Tre knew that for him to continue his journey towards NCAA glory, he would have to pursue bigger opportunities elsewhere.
Which is when the UMBC Retrievers came calling.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore now enters the upcoming NCAA season with a gritty UMBC bunch who are coming off an impressive 2020 campaign just a year ago, a season in which they notched the America East Conference Championship.
Tre carries such a unique combination of size, skill, and versatility with a long yet solid frame that allows for him to drive into the paint with ease or finish above opponent鈥檚 from nearly anywhere on the court. Plus, he鈥檚 got the physical profile and athletic potential that should beautifully mold to the Retrievers fast-paced style of play.
The Retrievers first game of the season is on Nov. 9 against University of Massachusetts, with fans hoping for a repeat of the team鈥檚 glorious run in 2018 when UMBC shocked the world and knocked off the No. 1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers, becoming the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
While this may be an unreasonable benchmark, it seems possible now more than ever thanks to the addition of Hamilton-native, Tre Edwards.
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