With big holes to fill, Fresno State men’s basketball team lands a former Fresno High star
Fresno State has a lot of basketball offense to replace after losing Deshon Taylor and Braxton Huggins, who accounted for 42.2 percent of its shots and 43.9 percent of its points in a 23-9 season that ended in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
But it landed a key piece for next season with the addition of former Fresno High star Daryl Edwards as a graduate transfer from LSU.
“He’s exactly what we need,” coach Justin Hutson said. “He’s an experienced, mature guard who can do a little bit of everything. He’s an explosive scorer – I think he had a game where he had 60 in high school or something. But he can also facilitate and he has a very high IQ – he’s a mature basketball player, which will really help us.
“As a local product, we’re all happy for him to be coming home. That was a big part of his decision – he likes Fresno so much.”
The Bulldogs next season have guards Noah Blackwell and New Williams returning, will have Oregon State transfer Jordan Campbell eligible at mid-year and incoming freshmen Jarred Hyder and Anthony Holland along with Edwards.
Edwards played in nine games last season for LSU before suffering a season-ending leg injury, averaging 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game. He already has received a medical hardship waiver to play next season.
As a senior at Fresno High, he set school single-season records for 3-pointers (76) and points (796) while finishing among state leaders with a 24.9 scoring average. He scored 25 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 62-61 win over top-seeded Roosevelt as Fresno captured the Central Section Division III title, the school’s first in 34 years.
He played two seasons (2015-17) at Northwest Florida State, a community college, before transferring to LSU.
“We have some good pieces, we just needed another guard or two,” Hutson said. “Daryl gives us a little more depth. He’s a mature guy. He’s what we need. He brings some toughness that we’re accustomed to.”