John Edwards (basketball)

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John Edwards
Position	Center
Height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Weight	275 lb (125 kg)
League	NBA
Team	Cherkassy
Born	July 31, 1981 (1981-07-31) (age 26) Warren, Ohio
Nationality	USA
High school	Hudson (Ohio)
College	Kent State
Pro career	2004–present
Former teams	Indiana Pacers (2004-2005) Atlanta Hawks (2005-2006)
Official profile	Info Page

John Edwards (born July 31, 1981 in Warren, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player, currently playing as center with Ukraine's Cherkassy.

After enjoying a less than spectacular high school career, backing up former Ohio State Buckeyes center Matt Marinchec, and rarely seeing time, Edwards played collegiately for Kent State University, taking two trips to the "Big Dance" - the NCAA tournament (losing to fifth seed Cincinnati in the second round after the upset beating fourth seed Indiana in the first round in 2001 and making it all the way to the elite eight in 2002 as a ten seed beating number two seed Alabama and number seven seed Oklahoma State). He was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year in his final season and holds the Kent State record for season and career blocked shots.

He was invited to the Indiana Pacers' training camp in 2004. Mainly due to his size, and some unexpected injuries to the Pacers' big men early in the season, he was the only free agent training camp invitee to earn a spot on the main roster. Even so, he was expected to be released as soon as the Pacers got healthy, but the rash of suspensions resulting from the November 19, 2004 brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills enabled him to remain on the team. As a result of this and other injuries to the bench, the Pacers were only able to dress six players and Edwards constituted the team's entire bench.

During the summer of 2005, Edwards signed with the Atlanta Hawks and during the 2005-06 NBA season he averaged 8.6 minutes per game.

On August 22, 2006, Edwards was traded back to the Pacers, along with Al Harrington, in exchange for a 2007 first-round draft pick.^[1] He was waived in preseason, and split time with two NBDL teams in 2006-07. The following season, also during preseason, Edwards was waived by the Minnesota Timberwolves, signing in November 2007 with Cherkassy.