Texas Basketball: 2019 class tops UGA despite Anthony Edwards pledge

The Georgia Bulldogs could be getting a program-altering commitment today with the announcement from five-star SG Anthony Edwards.

Some of the biggest news that will drop for any commitment for the 2019 recruiting cycle on Feb. 11 when the nation’s top prospect announced his pledge to the Georgia Bulldogs. This is somewhat of a surprise that the Georgia basketball program was able to land a prospect like the formerly reclassified 5-star Atlanta, GA, shooting guard Anthony Edwards over blue bloods like the North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, and Kentucky Wildcats.

After landing the commitment from the ultra talented Anthony Edwards on Feb. 11, head coach Tom Crean and the Dawgs 2019 recruiting class obviously skyrocketed up the national class rankings. According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, Georgia’s 2019 recruiting class ranks No. 12 in the nation with Anthony Edwards now in the mix. That does still rank one spot behind the 2019 Texas basketball recruiting class.

However, Texas basketball and Georgia’s 2019 recruiting classes are separated by the slimmest of margins in the national rankings. A slight ratings adjustment or even one commitment or decommitment could completely shift the placement of both programs.

What Anthony Edwards will bring to the table for Georgia is an ultra-athletic shooting guard that can score from anywhere on the court and physically outmatch most defending guards. Some of his highlights are absolutely incredible, showing that he can live above the rim.

However, some of the other finalists that the decision of Anthony Edwards came down to today included Kentucky and the Florida State Seminoles. He narrowed down his final commitment decision to Georgia, Florida State, and Kentucky amid an offer sheet that included 16 schools.

A few of the notable programs that weren’t included in the finalists for Edwards were the Florida Gators, Kansas Jayhawks, Michigan State Spartans, Memphis Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Virginia Cavaliers, and UNC Tar Heels. He had looks from most of the nation’s top college hoops programs.

The in-state giant Georgia was the ultimate winner of the commitment from Edwards, but he’s likely to be a one-and-done in Athens. He should be projected as a top three selection for the 2020 NBA Draft at the absolute worst.

Yet, the fact that Georgia was able to land Edwards and still didn’t crack the top 10 national class rankings shows how top heavy it is now. The second-highest rated commit in this class the nation’s No. 68 2019 high school prospect, four-star shooting guard Jaykwon Walton.

All three of the commits in the 2019 recruiting class for the Horns are ranked in the top 50 in the nation. That is helping Texas cling onto the No. 11 spot in the national class rankings, and as the top class in the Big 12. This is an interesting recruiting cycle since Georgia was able to land the No. 1 prospect in the nation and Kansas isn’t anywhere close to the top class in the Big 12.