Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Never Outworked, Edwards Shining For BC
January 06, 2017 | Women's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
There's hustle and then there's Kailey Edwards.
At Boston College, women's basketball is defined by its culture. A program that's trying to lay the foundation for its future success, its coaches and players have natural gifts but try to blend that opposite desire to be part of something larger. The individual, no matter how talented, is superseded by the team. Talent is a combination of "will vs. skill," a measurable basketball level contrasted and combined with intangibles that can't be measured within a stat sheet.
Kailey Edwards defines that mission. A graduate student who began her career at Denver University, she's the type of player every coach wants to have on the roster - a highly-skilled athlete willing to do whatever it takes to push the team to the next level.
It's something head coach Erik Johnson knows well. A former head coach at Denver, he originally recruited Edwards to the Pioneers program, then brought her to Chestnut Hill to help begin the process of building the Eagles program.
"She led her high school (Legacy High School) to a state championship in Colorado, and she was the MVP of that team," Johnson said, "but what we noticed about her was how she seemingly willed her team to victory. She can do everything, but she's not the most eye-popping type player on the floor. What she does instead is whatever is needed to help her team win the game. It's clearly what we were looking for in a player, and it's something that drew us to her as an athlete."
Playing at Denver, Edwards quickly established herself one of the team's most effective players. She led the Pioneers in minutes, points, steals, and free throw shooting during her sophomore year after being recognized as part of the WAC All-Freshman Team the year prior. She had a signature moment, with a 26-point performance in a win over Montana State. Even so, she requested and was granted a release from the program following that year to begin the transfer process to start a new challenge.
"I really loved Denver, and I loved all of the people at the university and with the program," Edwards said. "It was really early in the transfer process, and I had no intention of ever going to the east coast. Coach Johnson called me after I was granted my release and told me to give it a shot to see what Boston College was all about. I fell in love with it just the same as Denver, and I saw the culture that was building at BC. I thought I could really push that culture; I've always wanted to play the role of the underdog and I realized that Boston College would really let me play part of that process."
"We contacted Kailey and figured that at the worst case, she wouldn't be interested," Johnson said. "But she was open-minded because she was really trying to just find out what options she had. We talked about how she really wanted more of out of basketball. She never, ever bad-mouth anything about Denver and had a clear love of the program, but she wanted to get a different experience out of her basketball."
For Edwards, the decision didn't come lightly. NCAA rules required her to sit out the 2014-2015 season, and when she joined the active roster, she would compete for playing time at a forward position that had depth. So she tried to absorb as much as possible, while continuing to work and push in practice.-
"When I transferred, the first thing I noticed was the amazing atmosphere of playing in the ACC," Edwards said. "I was watching the games, and seeing the players on the court, I got a little bit starstruck at first. But then when I realized that it was a great opportunity and that the level of play in the conference is amazing. These are the best coaches and players, so sitting out actually allowed me to take it all in."
"The spring after her sophomore year, when she was about to transfer, she was training on her own," Johnson said, "so she wasn't in game condition when she got to Boston College. Her skill set wasn't in gear. But she would run through a wall on every play. She would sprint the wing and run the floor, even though when it was over she looked gassed and ready to pass out. So we used the redshirt year to get her body going again and get adjusted to the ACC, which is bigger and stronger than what she was used to at Denver. She gladly accepted a backup role last year, and she really sparked our team with hustle plays when she had her opportunity. She gave up being a superstar to come be a role player, and she really grabbed the role and never complained."
The adjustment period complete, Edwards became one of BC's most successful defensive players off the bench. Averaging just over 20 minutes per game, she began drawing assignments against some of the nation's most elite players, entering them into her version of a torture chamber. She resolved herself to outwork every player, and it paid off by earning her a key role on the Eagles heading into her final collegiate season.
It's here now that she's become one of the integral parts of the Boston College women's basketball landscape, and it's led everything full circle. After missing the first four games, she debuted with the Eagles at the Omni Hotels Classic in Boulder, Colorado on the exact same floor where she won her high school state championship. It was a return to where it all began, and it was a defining moment in her career.
"I had won that state championship back at home, and so I got to go home and share what I knew with Coach Johnson and my teammates," she said. "There were nerves and there were memories, and it was really a moment that I'll never forget."
"That trip to Colorado was her first game back, and now that she's worked fully back into our lineup, you can see what we've been able to accomplish," Johnson said. "At one point, we were 2-6 in our season, but then she helped turn it around to help make us 8-6, and Kailey's had a big role in making that happen. It's unbelievable to see the domino effect of her hustle and effort. She dives on the floor, and she sprints up and down on every play. She'll pressure the wings, and she makes everyone else play like that. She willingly guards our opponent's best player and does all of the little things away from the play that makes our offense click. Whether it's the best pass, or she's taking a charge, or it's an off-the-play cut, everyone sees the points that are scored but you really get an appreciation for how she can make those plays happen."
For the Eagles, that mindset's helped them to a 1-1 start in ACC play. After beating Clemson by 12 at home, the team lost to Pittsburgh and now readies for a trip to Syracuse on Sunday. With the rest of the ACC schedule looming, it's a time period for growth and development of the program with the hopes of shocking some of the nation's elite.
"That's the key word that we use - growth," Johnson said. "We have to recognize and be proud that is all part of the process. We're not good enough yet, and we know what we have to do on that particular day. We talk about why we're better than we were (at the start of the season), and we talk about the importance of consistency of our effort. Our next step is to just be better at what we do and believe in who we are."
"ACC season is all about that growth," Edwards echoed. "It was a great win over Clemson, and it helped show us who we are and where we're going. But we still have to get better every day and keep working to make today better than it was yesterday."
Kailey Edwards defines that mission. A graduate student who began her career at Denver University, she's the type of player every coach wants to have on the roster - a highly-skilled athlete willing to do whatever it takes to push the team to the next level.
It's something head coach Erik Johnson knows well. A former head coach at Denver, he originally recruited Edwards to the Pioneers program, then brought her to Chestnut Hill to help begin the process of building the Eagles program.
"She led her high school (Legacy High School) to a state championship in Colorado, and she was the MVP of that team," Johnson said, "but what we noticed about her was how she seemingly willed her team to victory. She can do everything, but she's not the most eye-popping type player on the floor. What she does instead is whatever is needed to help her team win the game. It's clearly what we were looking for in a player, and it's something that drew us to her as an athlete."
Playing at Denver, Edwards quickly established herself one of the team's most effective players. She led the Pioneers in minutes, points, steals, and free throw shooting during her sophomore year after being recognized as part of the WAC All-Freshman Team the year prior. She had a signature moment, with a 26-point performance in a win over Montana State. Even so, she requested and was granted a release from the program following that year to begin the transfer process to start a new challenge.
"I really loved Denver, and I loved all of the people at the university and with the program," Edwards said. "It was really early in the transfer process, and I had no intention of ever going to the east coast. Coach Johnson called me after I was granted my release and told me to give it a shot to see what Boston College was all about. I fell in love with it just the same as Denver, and I saw the culture that was building at BC. I thought I could really push that culture; I've always wanted to play the role of the underdog and I realized that Boston College would really let me play part of that process."
"We contacted Kailey and figured that at the worst case, she wouldn't be interested," Johnson said. "But she was open-minded because she was really trying to just find out what options she had. We talked about how she really wanted more of out of basketball. She never, ever bad-mouth anything about Denver and had a clear love of the program, but she wanted to get a different experience out of her basketball."
For Edwards, the decision didn't come lightly. NCAA rules required her to sit out the 2014-2015 season, and when she joined the active roster, she would compete for playing time at a forward position that had depth. So she tried to absorb as much as possible, while continuing to work and push in practice.-
"When I transferred, the first thing I noticed was the amazing atmosphere of playing in the ACC," Edwards said. "I was watching the games, and seeing the players on the court, I got a little bit starstruck at first. But then when I realized that it was a great opportunity and that the level of play in the conference is amazing. These are the best coaches and players, so sitting out actually allowed me to take it all in."
"The spring after her sophomore year, when she was about to transfer, she was training on her own," Johnson said, "so she wasn't in game condition when she got to Boston College. Her skill set wasn't in gear. But she would run through a wall on every play. She would sprint the wing and run the floor, even though when it was over she looked gassed and ready to pass out. So we used the redshirt year to get her body going again and get adjusted to the ACC, which is bigger and stronger than what she was used to at Denver. She gladly accepted a backup role last year, and she really sparked our team with hustle plays when she had her opportunity. She gave up being a superstar to come be a role player, and she really grabbed the role and never complained."
The adjustment period complete, Edwards became one of BC's most successful defensive players off the bench. Averaging just over 20 minutes per game, she began drawing assignments against some of the nation's most elite players, entering them into her version of a torture chamber. She resolved herself to outwork every player, and it paid off by earning her a key role on the Eagles heading into her final collegiate season.
It's here now that she's become one of the integral parts of the Boston College women's basketball landscape, and it's led everything full circle. After missing the first four games, she debuted with the Eagles at the Omni Hotels Classic in Boulder, Colorado on the exact same floor where she won her high school state championship. It was a return to where it all began, and it was a defining moment in her career.
"I had won that state championship back at home, and so I got to go home and share what I knew with Coach Johnson and my teammates," she said. "There were nerves and there were memories, and it was really a moment that I'll never forget."
"That trip to Colorado was her first game back, and now that she's worked fully back into our lineup, you can see what we've been able to accomplish," Johnson said. "At one point, we were 2-6 in our season, but then she helped turn it around to help make us 8-6, and Kailey's had a big role in making that happen. It's unbelievable to see the domino effect of her hustle and effort. She dives on the floor, and she sprints up and down on every play. She'll pressure the wings, and she makes everyone else play like that. She willingly guards our opponent's best player and does all of the little things away from the play that makes our offense click. Whether it's the best pass, or she's taking a charge, or it's an off-the-play cut, everyone sees the points that are scored but you really get an appreciation for how she can make those plays happen."
For the Eagles, that mindset's helped them to a 1-1 start in ACC play. After beating Clemson by 12 at home, the team lost to Pittsburgh and now readies for a trip to Syracuse on Sunday. With the rest of the ACC schedule looming, it's a time period for growth and development of the program with the hopes of shocking some of the nation's elite.
"That's the key word that we use - growth," Johnson said. "We have to recognize and be proud that is all part of the process. We're not good enough yet, and we know what we have to do on that particular day. We talk about why we're better than we were (at the start of the season), and we talk about the importance of consistency of our effort. Our next step is to just be better at what we do and believe in who we are."
"ACC season is all about that growth," Edwards echoed. "It was a great win over Clemson, and it helped show us who we are and where we're going. But we still have to get better every day and keep working to make today better than it was yesterday."
Players Mentioned
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