Justin Richard "Richie" Edwards (born June 30, 1990) is an American-New Zealand former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. After four seasons of college in the United States, Edwards returned to his adoptive home in New Zealand to play for the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as Th ...

. He won the NZNBL Rookie of the Year in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and later had stints in Australia and England.

Early life

Edwards was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

to parents Johnathan and Debbie Edwards. At a young age, he moved with his missionary parents to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand. There he attended the basketball-focused

Middleton Grange School Middleton Grange School (abbreviated MGS) in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a state-integrated Christian co-educational Year 1 to 13 school. It's currently New Zealand's largest evangelical Christian school. History Established in 1964 by the C ...

, where he graduated from in 2007. In 2008–09, Edwards attended

Lakeland Senior High School Lakeland Senior High School (abbreviated as LSHS) is an independent public co-educational high day school, located in the suburb of South Lake, Western Australia. History The school was established in 1990 and caters to students from Year 7 to ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

for a prep season. He went on to earn first-team All-State honors with the Dreadnaughts. He was also honored as the county Player of the Year and the Lakeland Ledger Player of the Year after averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

College career

From 2009 to 2011, Edwards attended

Hillsborough Community College Hillsborough Community College (HCC) is a public community college in Hillsborough County, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History HCC was one of the last community colleges to be created in Florida, founded in 1968. Only ...

. In his two seasons for the Hawks, he was a two-time All-Conference selection. As a freshman, he averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game, and as a sophomore, he averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. In 2011, Edwards transferred to

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

. As a junior in 2011–12, he was a role player for the Crusaders, coming off the bench to record 12 double-figure scoring games. In 30 games, he averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game. In 2012, Edwards transferred to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

and subsequently sat out the 2012–13 season due to NCAA transfer rules. As a senior in 2013–14, he played just 15 games for the Sun Devils, averaging 2.5 points in 6.7 minutes per game.

Professional career

On March 24, 2014, Edwards signed with the

for the 2014 New Zealand NBL season. In 17 games, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He was subsequently named Rookie of the Year. On October 29, 2014, Edwards signed with the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

of the Australian NBL as an injury-replacement for Mitch Creek. On November 21, 2014, he was released by the 36ers following Creek's return. In three games, he averaged 1.7 points per game. On February 8, 2015, Edwards re-signed with the Rams for the 2015 season. In 18 games, he averaged 17.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In August 2015, Edwards joined the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...

for their Asian tour, playing in Taiwan at the

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

and in the Philippines at the MVP Cup. On October 10, 2015, Edwards signed with the

Plymouth Raiders Plymouth Raiders are a basketball team based in Plymouth, England, currently competing in Division 3 of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. Founded in 1983 through a merger between two local basketball clubs, ...

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...

. However, he was released on November 7 after just two games, with the club citing "flagrant disregard for club rules, and for serious off court issues".

National team career

Edwards became one of the youngest Junior Tall Blacks when he debuted at just 14 years old in 2005. At the

2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Maori: 2009 FIBA I-Raro I Te 19 Tau Toa o Te Ao) was the 9th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship ...

, he averaged 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. At the 2011 World University Games, he led New Zealand in scoring and finished third among all tournament players, averaging 20.1 points per game.

References

External links

Arizona State bioValparaiso bioJunior Tall Blacks Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Richie 1990 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Canterbury Rams players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Plymouth Raiders players Power forwards Small forwards Basketball players from Albany, New York Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball players People educated at Middleton Grange School 21st-century American sportsmen