FLORENCE, Italy — The dial is moving faster on D'Montre Edwards' clock.
Armani Moore and Derek Reese, a pair of Tennessee freshmen basketball players, along with redshirt freshman Quinton Chievous, have four long years of collegiate eligibility remaining. The tics and the tocks of their clocks toll unhurried.
But Edwards, a junior college transfer from Brevard (Fla.) Community College, knows his time is fleeting.
"I've got two years left, two years to do this," Edwards said Thursday. "I've just got to do what I have to do and play hard, go all out."
So with his mind on his time and plenty to prove, Edwards has traveled here to Italy to prove himself.
His name appears on a roster of mostly known commodities — the veteran point guard in Trae Golden, the crafty and athletic wings in Jordan McRae and Josh Richardson, the sharpshooter in Skylar McBee, and the big men banging down low in Jeronne Maymon, Jarnell Stokes and Kenny Hall.
What does Edwards bring to the table?
"I'll do whatever Coach (Cuonzo) Martin wants," he said.
Good answer.
Having spent the summer trying to nudge his way into Martin's rotation, Edwards has the most to prove in the Vols' overseas spree. His size — a solid 6-foot-6, 210 pounds — and skill set — a rangy shooter, aggressive defender and physical rebounder — make him versatile and functional.
In UT's comfortable 83-32 victory against All Star Italy on Wednesday night in Rome, Martin sent Edwards into the game for rebounding. He pulled down a team-high eight to go with five points.
"When I heard my name called, I was thinking, 'OK, I'm ready, I'm not nervous, I've been doing this my whole life, it's my time,' " Edwards remembered Thursday.
His first shot, a 3-pointer from the wing, sailed wide, gathering air instead of net. Call it nerves. Edwards coolly lifted up and splashed in a 3 from the top of the key later in the night.
But Martin didn't bring Edwards to Knoxville for 3-point shooting. The 20-year-old fits the mold of the wings Martin tabs as a commodity. In the brand of defense he preaches and motion offense he's installed, Martin wants big, long-armed, disruptive, multipurpose players. They're the type of players you have difficulty labeling with a single position.
"He has a feel and physical presence to him," Martin said of Edwards. "He can play inside, play on the perimeter, put the ball on the floor, rebound well and post guys up. He's a good basketball player. He's ready to play at this level."
And he better be. A two-year career offers little leeway.
Edwards took a risk when he committed to Tennessee in October of 2011. Scholarships from Texas A&M, DePaul, College of Charleston and UAB were discarded. None of those programs match the amount of talent UT has returning.
That didn't deter Edwards.
Now the clock is ticking.
"Everywhere you go and everywhere you play, you're always going to fight for minutes," Edwards said. "It's really about who plays harder and who gets the job done."
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Comments » 2
mocsandvolsfan writes:
I have discovered UT video. I love these little films.
I'm just too exctied about UT bball this coming season...even in Italy. I'm also excited about football for the first time since Fulmer...ok ok Kiffin got my hopes up a little too. I'm a little bit gullible.hehe
johnlg00 writes:
Edwards resembles what I think of as a typical Martin-type player. CCM's detractors might take that as proof that CCM will never attract the marquee players with his philosophy and system. Well, we will see how that plays out.
In the meantime, he is assembling an athletic group who will contest every pass, shot, and rebound because they have at least six men between 6'4" and 6'8" who can rotate doing that. Players in that mold are long and quick enough to contest outside shots from far enough away to also be ready to contain drives or drop back to help in the post.
A good deal of the team's offense will come off transition because of defensive pressure, and a majority of the team is capable of handling the ball in the open court. In the half-court, the motion offense, fully installed and understood by all, will produce open shots that do not require all-world talent to make.
Like most teams, they could use another shot-creator or two, and they surely need at least a couple of dependable posts in the very near future. However, under CCM the Vols will be a rugged, proud, physical, competitive team, year after year, almost no matter what personnel they have.
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