Edwards Commits To UCONN

Aaliyah Edwards (5-stars, 6’2”, F, Crestwood/KN Elite) of Kingston Ontario has committed to attend the University of Connecticut to become a Huskie beginning in the Fall of 2020.

Edwards’ game has grown by leaps and bounds since entering high school. While always having a competitive nature, her skill and work ethic have really enabled her game to grow. She is known by her signature hairstyle with her purple and yellow braids, which pays homage to the Lakers and more importantly her idol, Kobe Bryant. With her ‘mamba mentality’, she has proven many people wrong, including CROWN, that she not only need to considered among the best in the 2020 Class, but her drive and determination would leave little doubt that she deserved to be at the top.

Much of her exponential growth in her game coincided when she made the decision to attend Crestwood Prep in Toronto, some two or so hours away from where she was living in Kingston. That decision before her Junior year, to go ‘all-in’ and immerse herself in all things basketball and to align herself with a school team that went undefeated, spoke a volumes about her wanting to be the best and her willingness to make sacrifices in order to do so.

Edwards has tons of athleticism to go along with her length and wingspan. Leveraging her track and field background, she can get to the basket from the perimeter in just a couple strides. And with her ball handling skills that have been refined over the past couple of years beyond just good straight-line takes, but also to incorporate strong drives that use speed that get defenders off balance while armed with a variety of counters that continually keep them guessing. She stays in attack mode on both ends of the floor, is an active rebounder while contesting just about everything in her vicinity by blocking shots and forcing steals.

Edwards comes from a close knit family that are usually in attendance at each of her games. They will no doubt make the trek on several occasions to Storrs, Connecticut to watch her and the Huskies play. What they take in should be all the more interesting to watch as UCONN makes the transition from NCAA’s American East conference over to the Big East beginning in Edwards’ Freshman year.

In the Spring, Edwards played with KN Elite at the Boo Williams Tournament, and spent her Summer with the Canadian National Women’s Team as they played in Europe.