Could not disagree with you more.
Edwards was fantastic yesterday and had been playing solid the past few games leading up to yesterday's breakout. It's huge for the team that he looks like he's becoming a dependable weapon for us.
But make no mistake about it, Calipari completely did Edwards and the team wrong this year, and this year might be Cal's worst coaching performance (which is saying something).
Most coaches with a brain, and ones who aren't whores to a bunch of 17-year-old kids and their handlers and agents, would have been giving Edwards 8-12 minutes a game while letting him develop in practice and gain confidence in limited game time, and then have Edwards actually EARN (!!!) more playing time the better he played. Wild concept, I know. Any person with a set of eyeballs could see how damn lost and behind he was this going into this year. Instead, Cal starts him and plays him 28+ minutes a game because Cal would rather lose games if it means he still gets a chance to get pimped out by Klutch, and Edwards' confidence hits rock bottom because not only is he playing bad but Cal is turning the fans against the kid because guys playing leaps and bounds better than Edwards rode the bench while Edwards was out there blocking his own shots on the rim and contributing nothing.
Yesterday's performance by the team was frustrating to me because you can see how insanely talented and skilled this group is. And yet, we're probably going to be like a 6 seed and be lucky to make it out out of the first weekend. I think the vast majority of D1 coaches would have done better job with this roster than Cal has. So no, Cal ain't getting credit here.
I gotta push back a bit on your post here.
#1 Though he has started 25 out of his 26 games, Edwards is only 7th on the team in minutes per game. He has averaged just over 20 minutes per game, not 28. When he began struggling, his minutes dropped, which makes sense.
#2 He scored pretty well early in the season and got more minutes. It was thought that he'd be great from the jump, but that didn't prove to be true. Although, he did score in double figures in 6 of our first 8 games and his minutes in those games were about 28 minutes per game. But as his efficiency dropped, his minutes also dropped. Again, that makes sense.
#3 When we hit SEC play and he was struggling more, his minutes dropped again. That number dropped to 17 minutes per game in the first 7 games in SEC play. Against Arkansas, he only played 9 minutes.
I won't defend Calipari's coaching this season- we've had too many losses to excuse. I also won't defend those losses by blaming youth. I will say that injuries have made an impact on particular losses. I don't think I would agree with the post you replied to (which said this was Calipari's best coaching move of the year) But I wouldn't go nearly as far as your post goes in the other direction. Clearly, Calipari has believed in Edwards more than me. As I said in my post above, I wouldn't have been starting him and he'd have been getting less minutes from about 10 games in. That also coincided with steadily improving play of Sheppard and Dillingham and some slow starts by our team. But I think you're making some assumptions about why Cal has played him by saying he's a "***** to 17 year olds and their handlers." If that were the case, Edwards' minutes wouldn't have dropped from around 28 to under 20, which is what happened. Edwards did start but he was also the first one subbed in nearly every game. I don't think your post holds up. If Edwards continues on an upward trend, Cal will get some credit, and he should. He has definitely shown significant improvement since the Vanderbilt game.
Looking at those 6 games...
Edwards has shot 27-42 for 64%
He has scored 78pts for 13pts per game
His improvement is undeniable.
