Ron Mercer vs Justin Edwards

[Jamal Mercer]

As we all try to be patient with Edwards, was just recalling what a disappointing season Ron Mercer was having his freshman year before that NCAA tourney final.

Some flashes here and there but I remember him not living up to the hype for most of that season. Fortunately, that is one of the greatest UK teams of all time, and his production wasn’t needed most of the time.

And of course, it wasn’t some foregone conclusion that Mercer would be a one and done like JE. Mercer came back and had an excellent soph season.

I say all this to say that it took Mercer some time to get going, and there are some similarities in their games.

Fun fact: I believe Mercer is still the only player in NCAA history to only play two seasons of college ball but still play in 12 tourney games.

 

[Smashcat]

Some flashes here and there but I remember him not living up to the hype for most of that season. Fortunately, that is one of the greatest UK teams of all time, and his production wasn’t needed most of the time.

Yeah, I can remember radio callers complaining he shouldn't be starting.

 

[Ollie]

Reminds me of a poor man's Terrance Jones. Needs to be a little tougher, don't force anything and clean up garbage. Don't need him to dominate a game.

 

[mcnicKY91]

I don't think any UK fan would have a problem with Edwards' slower start if we knew he was coming back for his sophomore season.

But unlike Mercer, there is a 0% chance we see Edwards in UK blue next season, thus the overall lack of patience UK fans have had thus far with his performance.

 

[ganner918]

Reminds me of a poor man's Terrance Jones. Needs to be a little tougher, don't force anything and clean up garbage. Don't need him to dominate a game.

There have been worse player comparisons posted on here.... but not much worse

 

[Cowtown Cat]

There have been worse player comparisons posted on here.... but not much worse

Lmao TJ was an absolute beast, both seasons. TJ was better than Edwards in every single facet, as was Mercer.

 

[docholiday51]

As we all try to be patient with Edwards, was just recalling what a disappointing season Ron Mercer was having his freshman year before that NCAA tourney final.

Some flashes here and there but I remember him not living up to the hype for most of that season. Fortunately, that is one of the greatest UK teams of all time, and his production wasn’t needed most of the time.

And of course, it wasn’t some foregone conclusion that Mercer would be a one and done like JE. Mercer came back and had an excellent soph season.

I say all this to say that it took Mercer some time to get going, and there are some similarities in their games.

Fun fact: I believe Mercer is still the only player in NCAA history to only play two seasons of college ball but still play in 12 tourney games.

Good points and player comparison + Edwards is a bit bigger. Too bad there is 0 chance Edwards will be here next season so that UK gets some benefit from his development

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

I have thought of the Mercer - Edwards comp a few times. Not that they are similar on the court of anything, but just the fact that Mercer took some time to get going his first year as well. Probably averaging about the same in regards to points per game. But by seasons end Mercer was getting it going. Maybe edwards can do the same. He has the tools. Sometimes it just takes a little longer.

 

[Bluesbrother]

Lmao TJ was an absolute beast, both seasons. TJ was better than Edwards in every single facet, as was Mercer.

I was just watching the 2012 Championship run and made the same statement that TJ was so important to that team and their dominance. It just cannot be understated IMO.

 

[Caveman Catfan]

I don't think any UK fan would have a problem with Edwards' slower start if we knew he was coming back for his sophomore season.

But unlike Mercer, there is a 0% chance we see Edwards in UK blue next season, thus the overall lack of patience UK fans have had thus far with his performance.

Edwards is inconsistent on the floor and does not handle the ball well in transition or on drives. He does a lot of nice things, however, and is a really smooth athlete. I have patience with him because I love what Adou brings off the bench. Pure havoc and energy. Edwards needs to just play with total effort for every minute he is on the floor, knowing there is a guy on the bench who can spell him well. And, not just one.

 

[BlueBomb]

Mercer turned into one of the very best mid-range shooter to ever play here.

No real point here, just sayin'

 

[YardCat]

Reminds me of a poor man's Terrance Jones. Needs to be a little tougher, don't force anything and clean up garbage. Don't need him to dominate a game.

Can you imagine if Edwards came in and was as aggressive as TJ was when he wanted to be unstoppable. I agree with the similarities

 

[bigbluelou]

Lmao TJ was an absolute beast, both seasons. TJ was better than Edwards in every single facet, as was Mercer.

#3 was a g.d. man. JE is a child in comparison.

 

[bigbluelou]

I think Mercer played a lot harder than JE does. May have been the Pitino effect, but it seemed like he was giving it 100% all the time even if he struggled some earlier in the season. Sometimes Edwards seems (to me) to just sort of go through the motions.

 

[catben]

Edwards is way more timid than Ron Mercer ever was here. He hates contact, short arms shots in the paint, has very little lateral lateral quickness which makes him a terrible defender and shoots too many 3’s. He is a very good rebounder.

Totally different player than Ron was.

 

[K_TIME]

While Mercer was slow starter his Fr year...and Ron was never a great deep shooter....he was always explosive athletically. Never missed dunks and shots at rim.

Edwards....my main beef is he just isn't physically dominate and then his skill level (shooting, ball handling, passing, etc..) is not high level.

Have no idea why he's rated top 5 even in a weaker class.

 

[cats#1again]

Reminds me of a poor man's Terrance Jones. Needs to be a little tougher, don't force anything and clean up garbage. Don't need him to dominate a game.

Jones was lot bigger than Edwards. Jones was so sparatic and had no idea where he was supposed to be. He's notorious for being the player cal would have to scream at the whole game. He was probably the most selfish player we've had

 

[Jamal Mercer]

Mercer turned into one of the very best mid-range shooter to ever play here.

No real point here, just sayin'

His 10-15 footer was almost automatic

 

[SkyPrince1]

Knox is the best companion IMO athletically and motor wise.
Kevin was a better shooter but is barely hanging on in the NBA.
Justin will have to embrace defense to have any meaningful career in the NBA.

 

[wcc31]

As we all try to be patient with Edwards, was just recalling what a disappointing season Ron Mercer was having his freshman year before that NCAA tourney final.

Some flashes here and there but I remember him not living up to the hype for most of that season. Fortunately, that is one of the greatest UK teams of all time, and his production wasn’t needed most of the time.

And of course, it wasn’t some foregone conclusion that Mercer would be a one and done like JE. Mercer came back and had an excellent soph season.

I say all this to say that it took Mercer some time to get going, and there are some similarities in their games.

Fun fact: I believe Mercer is still the only player in NCAA history to only play two seasons of college ball but still play in 12 tourney games.

No. Mercer wasn’t disappointing. He was a piece of a loaded team.

 

[bigbluedon]

I have never seen anyone get blocked by the rim on dunk attempts more than Edwards has. Unreal.

 

[UKBlueBlood]

Somewhat of an apples and oranges comparison, IMO. Mercer was a freshman on an historically dominant team full of upper classmen who started, lead the way, and got the majority of minutes. I really don’t recall thinking of Mercer as “struggling.” More like just playing his supporting role, as he should have on such a team. Then he had an opportunity to break out in the national championship game, and it was needed.

I’ll be thrilled if Edward’s follows Mercer’s trajectory and is giving us about 15 PPG come tournament time.

 

[Jamal Mercer]

No. Mercer wasn’t disappointing. He was a piece of a loaded team.

Correct on being a piece of a loaded team.

 

[bigbluedon]

Correct on being a piece of a loaded team.

Do you think he was disappointing?

 

[Catzman]

Reminds me of a poor man's Terrance Jones. Needs to be a little tougher, don't force anything and clean up garbage. Don't need him to dominate a game.

Edwards is about as far from Jones as can be. Jones was recruited as a 3/4 who turned into a 5 for us out of necessity and immediately went to work back 2 men down at once and 2 hand dunking on them early in the season against Notre Dame and many others. If Edwards had a butterfly land on his shoulder driving to the basket, he'd fumble it out of bounds. Jones also played with a fire and was tough as a junkyard dog. Edwards hasn't displayed any of that. Id say Adou is closer to Jones than anybody.

To me, Edwards is 1 notch above Boston and Clarke (RIP). You can SEE the gifts and even catch glimpses of what could be (like the flying put back against Miami).

 

[UKBB4Ever]

TJ was a badass! Could handle like a guard. Strong as an ox.

Not afraid of anyone.

Still can’t figure why he didn’t make it in the show.

TJ scored 50 against AD in the blue white game.

 

[HagginHall1999]

As we all try to be patient with Edwards, was just recalling what a disappointing season Ron Mercer was having his freshman year before that NCAA tourney final.

Some flashes here and there but I remember him not living up to the hype for most of that season. Fortunately, that is one of the greatest UK teams of all time, and his production wasn’t needed most of the time.

And of course, it wasn’t some foregone conclusion that Mercer would be a one and done like JE. Mercer came back and had an excellent soph season.

I say all this to say that it took Mercer some time to get going, and there are some similarities in their games.

Fun fact: I believe Mercer is still the only player in NCAA history to only play two seasons of college ball but still play in 12 tourney games.

Good points!

 

[Jamal Mercer]

Do you think he was disappointing?

I remember hearing that he would come in and be a huge difference maker right away. He wasn’t. Averaged 7 points a game. And scored 2,3,7,5,5 in tourney before exploding in the final game.

He didn’t need to be great however because of the team he was on. I was merely pointing out that we had to wait a whole season for him to “break out”. There’s still hope for Edwards.

 

[ck-2]

I don’t recall the rim rejecting Mercer repeatedly on dunk attempts.

 

[seccats04]

Jones was lot bigger than Edwards. Jones was so sparatic and had no idea where he was supposed to be. He's notorious for being the player cal would have to scream at the whole game. He was probably the most selfish player we've had

Cal did call him a selfish m-f.

 

[BlueEmpire]

I was just watching the 2012 Championship run and made the same statement that TJ was so important to that team and their dominance. It just cannot be understated IMO.

Yep. TJ got every rebound he wanted in that run in 2012. He was Windex.

 

[fatguy87]

Justin Edwards has a smooth running stride for his size.

Otherwise, he is utterly invisible. He has no playmaking ability and doesn't do any one thing particularly well.

 

[grevey35]

I remember hearing that he would come in and be a huge difference maker right away. He wasn’t. Averaged 7 points a game. And scored 2,3,7,5,5 in tourney before exploding in the final game.

He didn’t need to be great however because of the team he was on. I was merely pointing out that we had to wait a whole season for him to “break out”. There’s still hope for Edwards.

He only played 18 mpg so 7 ppg really is not so paltry on that team.

 

[blackcat714]

Edwards reminds me of a poor man’s Brandon Boston not a good as a shooter as BB

 

[BC_Wader]

I hope Edwards proves us all wrong. He had his best game in a bit against UL. He's still feeling out the college game. At least we haven't needed him to be studly for us to win. WHEN he gets it this year then we're going to be even tougher to beat than we are now.

 

[chevyman 50]

I think at this point Mercer was much better than Edwards.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

#3 was a g.d. man. JE is a child in comparison.

He sure was a man! Even as a freshman, he was a dominant force! I think some people forget how damn good he was. Basically from day one as well. Monster!

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Edwards needs to develop a handle ASAP or he will be lucky to land even in the lottery. He is great with his left but he can't go right at all. Guys overplay him so far left it completely negates anything he wants to do and he has zero answers.

To get the most out of this team, cal hopefully convinces Edwards to play the mkg role, minus creating. Defending, rebounding, and scrapping is something he's good at. Mkg was great at creating too but Edwards definitely shouldn't be trying to create until he gets his right hand dribble up to par

 

[Padsfs07]

Knox is the best companion IMO athletically and motor wise.
Kevin was a better shooter but is barely hanging on in the NBA.
Justin will have to embrace defense to have any meaningful career in the NBA.

I've thought he reminded me of Tayshaun Prince since he committed. Prince had the left handed shot and the aversion to contact just like Edwards. Prince didn't shoot well from 3 either his freshman or sophomore seasons, but came around obviously after that. Prince was behind Evans and Padgett his freshman year, but still got 20 MPG.

 

[RunninRichie]

I was just watching the 2012 Championship run and made the same statement that TJ was so important to that team and their dominance. It just cannot be understated IMO.

Terrance Jones is one of the best players to ever play at UK. Dude was a beast. Could stretch the floor too. But could also dunk on you like a true post center.