Booneville, Miss. - One of the most dynamic long distance specialists to come through the ranks at Northeast Mississippi Community College in the past decade will take his skillset on the court to another nearby highly successful squad.
Cannon Edwards has inked his National Letter of Intent (NLI) to become the latest inclusion to the University of West Alabama men's basketball team.
"I'm really excited for him and his family to have this moment," said Tigers head coach Cord Wright. "Anytime we can get guys in here and help them have good careers before they move on obviously it's a positive thing for all of us involved here.
"Cannon was one of the best shooters that I've ever coached. He can really, really fill it up. There's not many kids out there that can shoot it like he can. It's a tough subtraction for us, but a great addition over there."
The Tigers are coming off back-to-back NCAA Division II Tournament appearances for the first time in their 48-year history on the hardwood. West Alabama, which is located in Livingston, Ala., broke the program record for most wins in a single season with 22 in 2014-15 under the direction of headman Allen Sharpe.
"I thought it was a pretty good fit when I went and visited and saw all the nice people," Edwards said. "The campus was very nice. I love the goals in the gym when I went and shot on them. It felt like everything I threw up would go in.
"This is everything that I've ever dreamed about. I just want to thank the coaches and all my teammates at Northeast for getting me better and preparing me to sign higher."
Edwards' leadership was an important factor during his sophomore campaign in which the Tigers tripled their number of victories from one year ago and qualified for the postseason at both the state and regional levels.
The Petal native also became Northeast's biggest threat from beyond the arc during his two-year stint in the City of Hospitality. Edwards compiled the highest three-point percentage in each of his campaigns for guards that played in over 10 games and made at least one trey per contest.
He drained 77 total buckets from downtown in 38 appearances with the Tigers. That is third among all Northeast standouts in the last eight seasons behind Troy (Ala.) University signee Travis Lee and Philander Smith (Ark.) College product Jermaine Hollimon.
His 36.3 three-point percentage is also fourth best at Northeast in that same stretch of time. Edwards was even sharper on his rangy shot attempts against Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) opponents as well with a 37.5 success rate.
Edwards reached double digits during 11 outings as a Tiger. He first reached that plateau with 10 points during an overtime loss to Southern (La.) University at Shreveport in the 2013 Southwest Coca-Cola Classic.
He accounted for a season-high 17 points as a freshman at Holmes Community College to begin a run of four consecutive games in double figures. Edwards lifted Wright to his inaugural MACJC North Division triumph during that span with 15 points in a thrilling decision over Mississippi Delta Community College on January 27, 2014.
Edwards saved the best performance of his career at Northeast for sophomore night on February 21 versus Coahoma Community College. He electrified the crowd inside Bonner Arnold Coliseum by notching new personal bests of 33 minutes, eight field goals, seven three-pointers, seven rebounds and 23 points in a victory against the visiting Tigers.
The Petal High School graduate was very solid at the free throw line as well. Edwards accumulated an 80 percent ledger from the charity stripe and was 24 of 30 overall.
"Our whole team was full of great guys," said Edwards. "I'm glad I got to see us go far. Nothing mattered to me as long as we were winning."
He will receive the chance to meet one of his former Northeast colleagues in the University of North Alabama's Dimario Jackson twice during Gulf South Conference (GSC) regular season action as a junior.