John Edwards (born July 31, 1981) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position. Edwards played collegiately for

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

. While at Kent State, Edwards was part of two of the Golden Flashes trips to the NCAA tournament which included their appearance in the 2002

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

. He was named

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference pick in his final season and holds the Kent State record for season and career

blocked shots In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...

. He was invited to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

training camp in 2004. Mainly due to his size, and some unexpected injuries to the Pacers big men early in the season, he was the only

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

training camp invitee to earn a spot on the main roster. Even so, he was expected to be released as soon as the Pacers got healthy, but the rash of suspensions resulting from the November 19, 2004 brawl at

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...

enabled him to remain on the team. As a result of this and other injuries to the bench, the Pacers were only able to dress six players and Edwards constituted the team's entire bench. During the summer of 2005, Edwards signed with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

, and, during the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dr ...

, he averaged 8.6 minutes per game. On August 22, 2006, Edwards was traded back to the Pacers, along with

Al Harrington Albert Harrington (born February 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Cape Town Tigers. Selected with the 25th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Harrington played 16 seasons in the ...

, in exchange for a 2007 first-round draft pick. He was waived in preseason, and split time with two

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

teams in 2006–07. Edwards signed with the

Albuquerque Thunderbirds Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

in December 2006 then with the

Tulsa 66ers Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

the following month. The following season, also during preseason, Edwards was waived by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, signing in November 2007 with

Cherkassy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the capital of Cherkasy Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (district) within the oblast. The city has a population of Ch ...

. Edwards returned to the D-League when he signed with the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

in March 2009. The Energy traded Edwards to the

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

in January 2010. He played in the 2010–2011 season with the Greek League team Colossus Rhodes. He then played in Puerto Rico, before moving to Poland to play for

Turów Zgorzelec PGE Turów Zgorzelec is a Polish a basketball team based in Zgorzelec. The club played in the Polish League (PLK) and won the Polish championship once, in the 2013–14 season. The club was sponsored by the PGE Group, and they are also the clu ...

. In 2012, he signed with BC Tsmoki-Minsk in Belarus. He retired from basketball in 2013 and is pursuing a career in Information Technology.

References

External links

NBA bio of Edwards
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, John 1981 births Living people Albuquerque Thunderbirds players American expatriate basketball people in Belarus American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Bakersfield Jam players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball players from Ohio BC Cherkaski Mavpy players BC Tsmoki-Minsk players Centers (basketball) Indiana Pacers players Iowa Energy players Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball players Kolossos Rodou B.C. players People from Hudson, Ohio Sportspeople from Summit County, Ohio Sioux Falls Skyforce players Sportspeople from Warren, Ohio Tulsa 66ers players Undrafted National Basketball Association players