DaytonDailyNews.com

MIDDLETOWN — Bill Edwards Jr. was just proud to be a Middie.

The Middletown High School senior played all four years on the varsity boys basketball team and his accolades are numerous.

This season he was named to the Division I All-Ohio first team and the D-I Southwest District first team. He also was the D-I District 15 player of the year and the Greater Miami Conference co-player of the year.

"Being in Middletown in general and playing at (Wade E.) Miller Gym has been a great experience," said Edwards, who also is The Middletown Journal's player of the year for the second consecutive year.

Edwards' milestones are plenty in his time at Middletown. This season, he reached the 1,000-point mark in his career and finished with 1,129 points, which ranks him seventh on the all-time list, which is topped by the legendary Jerry Lucas, whom Edwards was fortunate enough to meet this season.

"It was a lot of fun to meet Lucas," Edwards said. "The knowledge I got from a guy like that who knows a lot about the game, it's just great to be part of the same group as him. It's something I'll always remember."

But Edwards already has many wonderful memories of traveling abroad with his father Bill Sr., who played professionally in Europe while Bill Jr. was growing up.

Edwards has been to Italy, Greece and France, to name a few stops.

"It was a blessing for me to be able to see the world at such an early age," Edwards said. "I've seen a lot of guys that are in the pros now.

"We would go to the park and play basketball every day after school," Edwards added about his time overseas.

But he also spent time attending Middies' games as a youngster, knowing that one day he'd wear the purple jersey himself.

"I didn't come to every Middie game, but it was fun looking up to those guys," Edwards said. "I always knew I wanted to do as good or better when I got my turn to play here."

The Middies improved each year that Edwards was on the team, going from 7-15 his freshman year to 13-9 as a sophomore, 15-8 as a junior and 19-3 this season. Those 19 wins were the most by the Middies since 1983.

"We pulled together so much more this year," Edwards said. "We played great all year. It's just too bad it ended so early, but it's still going to be something I remember for a long time."

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.