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Dad helps Miami's Edwards get his mind right

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By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 8:48 AM Wednesday, November 16, 2011

OXFORD — At the very moment his dad was calling him, he was calling his dad Tuesday morning.

Bill Edwards Sr. wanted to know how his son was doing and that’s the same reason Bill Jr. was phoning him.

And within seconds of their connection, Dad could tell.

Junior had waited a year for this day — the Miami University basketball season opener against Dayton, an eventual 72-67 overtime victory for the RedHawks — and now he was out of sorts.

“When I realized I wasn’t starting, I had to get my mind right,” Bill Jr. said. “I won’t lie, it took me a while. I didn’t talk most of the day.”

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound sophomore forward had starred at Middletown High, then went to Penn State, where he started five games as a freshman and played considerable minutes in the rest. After that 2009-10 season, he transferred to Miami and sat out last year, per NCAA rules.

This year he’s still learning the system, learning what the coaches want and is needing to drop 15 or 20 pounds, said coach Charlie Coles.

“Like a lot of kids who transfer, he’ll have to work through some things,” Coles said. “The only player I know that didn’t was Oscar Robertson and he’s not the Big O.”

He is the son of Bill Sr., who is a legend at Wright State. He’s the school’s all-time leading career scorer, a guy who lifted the program to its first NCAA appearance and then went off to a 13-year pro career in Europe.

“When we talked I told him to get his mind right,” Bill Sr. said. “Some things he can’t control, but he can control how he goes into a game. He can’t sit there and pout and be mad. He has to be ready when they call his name.”

Bill Jr. started to snap out of it when the team first went out to shoot around before the game, said senior leader Julian Mavunga:

“He hadn’t said a word since the morning, then he said, ‘I know I’ve been quiet, but I hope none of you take it as negative energy. I’m gonna bring it tonight.’ And he did.”

With Mavunga struggling in the first half, Edwards came off the bench and gave the RedHawks a boost.

He finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks — Mavunga had 17 points and 11 rebounds — and Miami came from eight down to edge the Flyers at Millet Hall.

“Bill did a good job tonight,” Coles said afterward. “He has a lot of savvy. I said before, if he becomes a student of the game, he’s going to be a hard guy to guard.

“He kind of reminds me of Mark Aguirre. I’m not talking ability-wise, I’m talking style of play. He’s like the college Mark Aguirre. Or (Adrian) Dantley. In the first half he gave us some buckets we weren’t going to get unless he got them.”

Mavunga agreed: “He carried us the first half and I have to give him credit. A lot of guys who don’t start, pout and think ‘I don’t have to play hard.’ He understood what he had to do.”

All it took was a phone call to Dad.

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