Published: November 10, 2008 10:42 pm      

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Edwards leaps into NU lineup

LEWISTON — Kashief Edwards’ teammates can’t contain their excitement.

“He jumps out of the gym,” Bilal Benn says.

“He bites the rim,” Tyrone Lewis says.

“He’s got Big East athleticism,” Rob Garrison says.

Though he stands just 6-foot-5, the Niagara Purple Eagles expect big things from Edwards. The 19-year-old from Philadelphia is perhaps the lone power forward who will be in Niagara’s rotation this season.

Despite his height and slender build, Edwards is not suited for the wing. His aggressiveness and leaping ability allow him to play bigger than he is. And stay near the goal — which is his goal.

“He tries to go and dunk every time,” Lewis said. “He’s a little forward, and he tries to bang with (6-foot-7, 270-pound ) Kamau (Gordon). ‘Ain’t nobody moving Kamau on this team, not even (6-foot-10, 260-pound) Benson (Egemonye).”

Of the six new Niagara players, Edwards is the only one that could’ve helped last season. While Garrison and Benn were forced to sit out a year after transferring, and recruits Austin Cooley, Eric Williams and Luuk Koretekaas were finishing their high school careers, Edwards sat at the end of the Niagara bench.

Prior to his arrival last season, Edwards had decided he was going to redshirt as a freshman.

“I wanted to get a good year under my belt,” Edwards says. “I do better when I get a year. I had a chance to learn the plays. All that stuff was real new to me. I knew it was going to take me a while to pick it up, and I didn’t want to mess up.”

Niagara went into last season with a formidable front-line player in Charron Fisher, along with Egemonye, Gordon, and Miroslav Palenik, a powerfully-built transfer nicknamed “Street Fighter” for his style of play.

Coach Joe Mihalich says he told Edwards he would play, but respected the player’s decision to devote a year to learning.

As it turned out, the NCAA ruled Palenik ineligible because he had played 55 games for a professional club in his native Slovakia. Even with Fisher and Egemonye, the Purple Eagles struggled against bigger front lines.

Mihalich acknowledged this week that had he known Palenik wouldn’t be able to play, he likely would’ve tried to convince Edwards to play as a true freshman.

“Once we got through the season, though, it ended up probably being the right thing to do,” Mihalich said.

Edwards used the extra year to add about 20 pounds of muscle, bulking up, he says, to 205 pounds.

“It’s a lot easier to take bumps and contact now,” he said. “And when you jump around a lot, you get bumped.”

Rebounding remains a question mark as Niagara approaches Sunday’s season-opener in the Gallagher Center. But the Purple Eagles themselves appear certain that Edwards will help in that area.

“He’s like a little Clif Brown,” Lewis said, referencing the pivot man from Niagara’s 2007 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship team.

Anthony Nelson practically scoffs at the suggestion that the Purple Eagles will be weak on the boards this season.

“Kashief’s tough,” he said, as if there’s nothing else to add.

Edwards also expects the added strength to help him display one of his finest skills — finishing at the rim.

“He amazes me with his athleticism, and I’ve played with some pretty athletic players,” said Garrison, the Niagara Falls native who transferred from Connecticut. “Sometimes, I come off the pick and just throw it up there for him. I call him my Tyson Chandler. He’s going to make me look really good.”

SEASON OPENER