Rick Barnes breaks down Tennessee signee BJ Edwards

On Sunday, Tennessee officially announced the signing of 2022 point guard BJ Edwards. The 6-3, 170 pound guard is a four-star prospect, ranking as the 68th best player in the class, per 247Sports.

Edwards is the lone commitment to this point in Tennessee’s 2022 class. He’s likely going to be next in line once Kennedy Chandler makes his inevitable move to the NBA after this season. Tennessee should have one more season with Santiago Vescovi and they’ve already got Zakai Zeigler in house and on the floor as a reclassified true freshman.

Rick Barnes discussed the signing of Edwards once it became official on Sunday.

“B.J. is a player we’ve known for a long time, and he’s a winner,” Barnes said. “He’s a complete guard who can impact the game in multiple ways. He plays with a lot of confidence and great pace. He also defends at a high level, which is an attribute we value. He’s always been an efficient scorer, but he also makes his teammates better as a distributor.”

Edwards held other offers from Florida, Georgetown, Auburn, Seton Hall, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Wake Forest. He ranks as the third best player to come out of the state in the 2022 cycle, trailing Brandon Miller (Alabama commit) and Chandler Jackson (Florida State commit). Edwards is the tenth ranked point guard prospect nationally, per 247Sports.

“We think B.J. has a chance to blossom into one of the best all-around guards in the SEC if he continues to work hard and buys into our player development program,” Barnes said. “Keeping him here in Knoxville has been a priority for us.”

Since landing Edwards, Tennessee has missed on several high-profile targets. Barnes had settled into a groove of landing a couple of elite prospects per year, but that streak could be in jeopardy here. The Volunteers might end up attacking the transfer portal to make up for that, likely tasked with replacing at least John Fulkerson and Kennedy Chandler.

Tennessee’s future at point guard does appear to be in place, however.