John Calipari traveling to watch Kentucky signee Justin Edwards

Kentucky’s season may be over, but head coach John Calipari is still immersed in the daily grind.

During his final radio call-in show of the 2022-23 season on Monday night, host Tom Leach mentioned that Calipari, who was calling in from his phone, is currently on the road from Greensboro, NC to go watch class of 2023 Kentucky signee Justin Edwards. Later Monday night, Edwards and Imhotep Charter (PA) will play in the PIAA 5A Boys’ Basketball Championship semifinals against Archbishop Ryan in Philadelphia.

Edwards, a 6-foot-7 small forward, is considered a five-star prospect and the No. 2 overall recruit in the ’23 class. Imhotep has cruised through the first three rounds of the state championship, winning by a combined average of 38.3 points per game.

John Calipari is on the road tonight watching Kentucky signee Justin Edwards

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) March 20, 2023

Kentucky’s season came to a close on Sunday afternoon in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, when the six-seeded Wildcats fell to No. 3 Kansas State, 75-69. It was a disappointing end to a season that began with high hopes, but Calipari is already getting to work for the future by checking on his top-ranked signee for next year’s team.

Kentucky’s 2023 class is far and away the top group in the nation, with four five-star commits and one four-star joining the program this summer. Edwards is the co-headliner along with five-star combo guard DJ Wagner. Joining those two are five-star center Aaron Bradshaw (who is high school/AAU teammates with Wagner), five-star point guard Robert Dillingham, and four-star combo guard Reed Sheppard, who was recently tabbed as 2023 Kentucky Mr. Basketball.

Edwards, who is already projected as a top-five NBA Draft pick in 2024, is the last of the five signees still contending for a state championship. Sheppard and North Laurel fell in the first round of the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 Tournament last week while Dillingham’s season with Overtime Elite came to an end in February.

Wagner and Bradshaw, who play for Camden (NJ) High School, were removed from the state tournament following an on-court brawl in mid-February. However, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Camden will play in an event sponsored by FOX called The Throne as the Camden Avalance, which is a brand-new tournament scheduled to begin at the end of March that will take place at Morehouse College in Atlanta.