BLOOMINGTON -- Hyron Edwards is still just a freshman, which means he likely doesn't know what he doesn't know.
Consider it the perils of youth.
That he is also a very talented point guard, perhaps better at this stage than Yogi Ferrell was at the same age (that's the same Yogi Ferrell set to arrive in Bloomington next month as a freshman so talented that IU coach Tom Crean calls him the nation's best point guard) means Edwards becomes the center of media attention wherever and whenever he plays.
This past weekend attention centered on the adidas May Classic in Bloomington.
The problem -- Edwards lives in an age of instant recruiting information and analysis, where the smallest word, the slightest inflection of tone, is digitized and scrutinized as if it bore the insight of, say, Ernest Hemingway.
Why Ernest Hemingway?
We'll get to that in a moment.
For instance, Edwards had an unofficial visit (his second) to Indiana just before the start of the adidas May Classic. He had earlier made an unofficial visit to Purdue. Both have offered him scholarships. He was asked to compare the two.
Here is what he said:
“(Purdue) was pretty great. It's not like IU, though. It's not like IU.”
That quickly became a Twitter sound bite. Those words were interpreted that IU topped Edwards' recruiting list.
Then Edwards was asked about the difference between Indiana and Purdue.
“The difference is like the weight room,” he said. “(Purdue) has a lot of football stuff. IU has a lot of basketball stuff just for the basketball team.”
Is that a positive for Indiana?
“Yes, it's a positive,” Edwards said.
Again, what does that really mean? Maybe everything, maybe nothing. All we know for sure is that when Edwards was growing up, “I liked Purdue. And then I liked Kentucky. Those were the teams I liked.”
We also know Edwards plans to wait on picking a school. An announcement might not come until November of his senior year. That was when Indiana's Cody Zeller did it and that turned out OK.
Edwards said that during his Purdue visit, coaches “talked to me about the offense, the campus, my grades, achievements if I should choose Purdue. They talked about school and basketball."
He said that during his IU visit coaches “talked to me about their offense. They said I'd fit in great with their offense. They have some great guards, Jordan Hulls, Yogi Ferrell. They like to run, give ball screens, all that stuff.
“That will go with my game. I like to get off ball screens, attack the rim, fast break. I like to get the ball off the rim and go. Push it up ahead to my teammates. That's what IU does. I saw a tape of them from last year, Jordan Hulls and all those great players they have.”
Edwards' late Friday night IU campus tour came via a golf cart. He saw the basketball facilities, the football stadium, the tennis courts, the golf course, the fine arts building and more.
Meanwhile, the recruiting competition grows. Illinois under new coach Jim Groce is interested. So is Michigan State's Tom Izzo, who got this season's Indiana Mr. Basketball, Gary Harris, to become a Spartan.
The reason for all this interest is Edwards is very, very good. In one Saturday game at the Twin Lakes Complex, he attacked the basket, soared so high his elbow was above the rim and dropped in the ball. A few minutes later, he drove and banked in a shot from about 10 feet, displaying a rare combination of speed, power and touch.
He did all that with a sprained ankle bad enough to cause him to sit out Sunday's action. He wore a protective boot and is likely to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. Without him, Indiana Elite/Team Indiana still won the AMC 15U title, in part because Chandler White, a Carroll freshman guard, had 21 points in one game.
Indiana Elite/Team Indiana, coached by veteran Mark Adams, is 29-0 this spring with five tourney titles. That's one of the best starts ever for a traditional national powerhouse travel ball program.
Edwards will continue to play a major role and generate major recruiting interest. All of this attention has caught him off guard. Yes, he had a nice freshman season for East Chicago Central, but he didn't expect to become a recruiting focal point this fast.
“It's pretty great. I like it.”
As for Ernest Hemingway connection, years ago some critic/academia analyzed one of Hemingway's novels. In it Hemingway wrote about a white dove and the critic came up with all sorts of symbolism. When asked about it, Hemingway said there wasn't any intended symbolism or deep philosophical meaning about the bird. He'd just wanted to put in a white dove.
That's the same with Edwards. This weekend he was surrounded a group of mostly Indiana media, so some could perceive his answers had a Cream and Crimson slant. In a Purdue setting, they might have a Boiler slant. You see what you want to see; hear what you want to hear.
It doesn't matter. Edwards will decide when he is ready and he will, hopefully, make the best decision for him and his family. He really can't make a bad decision. Every school will give him what he wants -- a great basketball program, a great academic opportunity and a chance to develop to the fullest.
Hemingway couldn't have said it any better.
