Basketball runs through the blood of St. Joe’s redshirt junior forward Lorenzo Edwards. Edward’s father, Kevin Edwards, had an 11 year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic and Vancouver Grizzlies and inspired his son to play the game.
“I had seen his highlights and his jersey,” Edwards said. “I was always drawn to basketball, but he never pushed me in any way to play. Basketball was just something I wanted to do.”
When it came time for Edwards to make his decision on where he would be playing college basketball, he said it was an easy choice considering who he had watched on TV that March 2016.
“They [St. Joe’s] were in the tournament that year,” Edwards said. “I was definitely drawn to that. The area too. I like Philly and the city. We have the Big 5 which drew me in too. I wanted to get away from home for a little and see the East Coast. A combination of all that led me here.”
Now in his third year playing and fourth year on Hawk Hill, Edwards’ experience plays a major factor in developing this year’s young Hawks team.
“I take more of a leadership role now,” Edwards said. “I have been here and I know what to expect so I do help the younger guys out more.”
Building upon the preparation for this season, Edwards noted that he took a different approach to offseason workouts than years before.
“My dad and I worked out at the Bulls facility with a couple of their coaches and I really got after it,” Edwards said. “I turned it up a notch. I put in a lot of work this summer to play well this year. I am definitely a lot more confident this year.”
There are two main areas Edwards credits as the best parts of his game. On defense, he emphasizes his ability to block shots, while on offense he said his best skill set is shooting, which he thinks will continue to improve.
Edwards’ teammate and roommate, redshirt junior Ryan Daly, recognizes Edwards’ shooting ability.
“He is extremely competitive and one of the best shooters in the Atlantic 10,” Daly said. “Since day one, we have immediately clicked on and off the court. I am really happy he is on our team and my close friend.”
In Head Coach Billy Lange’s offense, there is an added emphasis on shooting from beyond the arc. Even forwards like Edwards and junior Taylor Funk are required to be adept from three point range.
“I think for all of our bigs it plays to our advantage,” Funk said. “Not a lot of big men who are our height can shoot as well as us. We want to shoot a lot of threes, and I definitely think it will helps us.”
Putting up a career high 23 points on the road against Old Dominion University, Edwards credited his poor shooting performance in the St. Joe’s home opener against Bradley University as to why he feels he caught fire that game.
“I was pissed because I went 0-6 [in three pointers] in the home opener,” Edwards said. “I was so [upset] about that. I worked a lot on shooting that week. A lot of shooting the ball after and before practice. I wasn’t really thinking about 0-6 too much, but it definitely pushed me to put in more work.”
In the Hawks win over the University of Connecticut on the road, Edwards played a key role in securing the victory. It was not his stat line of five points, three rebounds, and a block that contributed the most, rather a quick steal with a resounding dunk at the 1:31 mark in the second half that put them up by 12 and sealed the victory for the Hawks.
“That was amazing,” Edwards said. “It was a great feeling playing on that stage on national TV and closing out the game. Finishing it was a great feeling for me and my teammates. I feel like not a lot of people expected us to win, but we brought it. It was a great feeling and a great win for the program.”
