The Kyrie Irving-Rod Strickland Summer Basketball League concluded its 25th season this past Sunday. Championship day was highlighted by the honoring of the late Dave Edwards, a New York City point guard standout in the early 1990s who passed away from COVID-19 in March of 2020.
The first annual Dave Edwards Coach of the Year Award was presented to Melvin Santiago of the Elite Fundamentals program. “Dave was a kind and caring person, and a great coach for the youth in our community,” said LaMarre Dyson, who co-founded the League and has been its director from its inception.
“He is missed but we will honor him every year with this award. Rest in peace coach.” The
5’10” Edwards starred at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens before playing his freshman collegiate season for the legendary coach John Thompson at Georgetown, where his teammates included future NBA Hall of Famers Alonzo Mourning and Diikembe Mutombo. Thompson passed away in August of 2020.
Edwards subsequently transferred to Texas A&M, where he was one of the best college guards in the nation from 1991 to 1994. He averaged 13.5 points, 7.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds, and was named all-SWC three times. As a senior, Edwards led the Southwest Conference in assists at 8.8 per game.
Five teams took home gold trophies as champions of their respective divisions including the Gauchos in 8u, the Gauchos girls in 10u, Harlem USA boys in 12u, KS All-Stars 12u and the Crusaders in 14u.