Mike Edwards (born early 1950s) is an American former basketball player best known for his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and collegiate careers in the United States rather than his professional career in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He played for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

between 1970–71 and 1972–73 and was named the 1972 co-

Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the player who has proven himself, throughout the season, to be the most exceptional talent in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The school with the most SEC Play ...

. He has been enshrined in the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

as part of its Class of 2003, and in February 2009 was chosen to the Tennessee All-Century Team, commemorating the greatest 20 players in program history.

High school

A native of

Greenfield, Indiana Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Indiana, United States, and a part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The population was 20,602 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 23,006 in 2019. It lies in Center Township. ...

, Edwards starred at Greenfield High School from 1965–66 to 1968–69. During his four-year career, the 6'2", 180-pound

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

scored 2,343 points and averaged 34.4 points per game between his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

years. His 36.4 points per game average in 1968–69 led the state and he was named a high school All-American. Edwards earned the nickname the "Greenfield Gunner" for his shooting and scoring abilities. When it came to his decision to play for the

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, Tennessee's head coach

Ray Mears Raymond Paul Mears (born 7 February 1964) is a British woodsman, instructor, businessman, author and TV presenter. His TV appearances cover bushcraft and survival techniques. He is best known for the TV series ''Ray Mears' Bushcraft'', ''Ray ...

offered Edwards a scholarship without even having seen him play competitively in person. Mears was attending a coaching clinic at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

and told Edwards to take some jump shots from the

perimeter A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimeter has several pract ...

. Edwards impressed Mears, and the next fall he was enrolled at the school.

College and later life

Due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

eligibility rules at the time, college

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

were not allowed to play varsity sports. Edwards played for Tennessee's freshman team in 1969–70 and averaged 30.1 points per game on the team. He was able to play varsity from his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

through senior years, and in just three seasons he scored 1,343 points in 77 career games. He scored 572

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball ...

on 1,265 attempts during an era when no

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

line existed. As a pure jumpshooter, Edwards later claimed that it "would have been interesting" to see how many more points he would have scored if a three-point line had existed. In his first varsity season the Volunteers earned a berth into the

1971 National Invitation Tournament The 1971 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. 1971 was unique because it was the only time that major rivals Duke and North Carolina had played each other after the ACC tournament ...

, reaching the quarterfinals before bowing out to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, 74–68. They finished in second place in the SEC with a 13–5 conference record. The following year, Edwards helped lead Tennessee to an SEC regular season co-championship with

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

behind a 14–4 conference record. They did not qualify for any postseason tournament, although Edwards was named the co-SEC Player of the Year. In addition, he was named an Academic All-American. In 1972–73, Edwards final season, the Volunteers tied for second place with two other schools and once again failed to earn any postseason berths. Edwards concluded his collegiate career with a second consecutive All-SEC First Team selection as well as a third consecutive Academic All-SEC selection. After college he played professionally in Mexico before officially retiring from basketball. He then got into coaching, first at various high schools and then at

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College is ...

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

and finally

Carson–Newman University Carson–Newman University is a private Baptist university in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Carson-Newman is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1851, the university enrolls about 2,500 studen ...

. Eventually he switched careers and now is a high school teacher at

William Blount High School , motto_translation = Your Light is My Way , address = 219 County Farm Road , city = Maryville , state = Tennessee , zipcode = 37801 , country = ...

in Maryville, Tennesse

having formerly taught at Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennesse

On June 9, 1973 he married Debra J. McCulley of Maryville, TN.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Mike 1950s births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Carson–Newman Eagles men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Emory and Henry Wasps men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States People from Greenfield, Indiana Sportspeople from the Indianapolis metropolitan area Shooting guards Tennessee Volunteers basketball players