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Smilin' Dave Edmonds will graduate in June but his style of play,
his sportsmanship and the ever present grin on his face will linger
at West Georgia for a long time.
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Smilm’ Dave
Edmonds Graduates , But Won t Be Forgotten
He was not a flashy player,
nor did he have a high point
average. He played in the
shadow of Clarence “Foots”
Walker, one of the most honored
collegiate basketball players
ever in the State of Georgia, but
never did he show signs of
jealousy or envy.
David Edmonds, Braves
basketball player for the past
two seasons, does not possess
any of the characteristics that
are often found under the
heading, “star player.”
However, to those who knew
him well, his coaches and
teammates, he will go down as
one of the top players ever to
honor the red and blue uniform
of the Braves.
When he signed a West
Georgia grant-in-aid in the
spring of 1973, assistant coach
and chief recruiter Jerry
Reynolds predicted that the
Braves had just found the
Win Streak Ended
Braves Lose To Shorter 9-1
The Braves have four games
scheduled this week in the form
of two double doubleheaders.
Saturday, West Georgia is on
the road to play Augusta
College in a twin bill in Augusta.
The Braves return home
Tuesday for a big South Atlantic
Conference game against
Columbus College. The
doubleheader with the Cougars
begins at 2 p.m.
The West Georgia Braves
continued to play what their
coach termed “mediocre”
baseball this week as they split
two games, running the current
team record to 6-6.
The Braves had a three-game
win streak snapped on Monday
missing link that could lead
them to the national playoffs
and a strong shot at “all the
marbles.”
Ten months after Edmonds
signed with the Braves,
Georgia's first national
basketball championship was
held on the campus of West
Georgia College, and Edmonds
played in the history-making
conquest. During the five-game
tournament he averaged 21
points and nine rebounds per
game. He was also named to the
all-tournament team. .....
“No, he is certainly not a
flashy player like ‘Foots’ nor a
high scorer like Turner,” Coach
Reynolds said “but he was
consistently one of the finest all
around players, offensively and
defensively, that I have ever
been associated with. He never
has nor will he ever get all of the
credit that he deserves.”
During his two seasons as a
when Shorter College trounced
West Georgia, 9-1. Phil Taylor
took the loss for the Braves..
Coach Archie White said
simply, “We were blown out,”
following the Shorter defeat.
The Braves, a young ball club
this year, were simply out
matched against the older,
more experienced Shorter club.
Shorter also had a distinct
depth advantage over West
Georgia, according to White.
The Hawk squad carries 19 full
scholarships, compared to three
for the Braves, White said.
BRAVES WIN
West Georgia bounced back
Tuesday with a big 4-1 win over
Hope College. Ray Davis, who is
starting guard for the Braves,
the New York City native
averaged 16 points, and five
rebounds at West Georgia.
“But you can’t always look
purely at the statistics,” Braves
head coach Roger Kaiser said.
“Sometimes it is what’s inside a
player that means the most. I’m
talking about desire,
dedication, unselfishness, and
team oriented spirit.”
“Sure, words like that sound
as if they came straight from
some ‘Knute Rockne-Win one
for the Gipper’ folklore, but
when you find that athlete who
possesses thos intangibles, you
really have a rarity. And Dave
Edmonds is just that kind of
athlete,” said Coach Kaiser.
By a vote of five opposing
conference coaches, the 6-3
guard was named the South
Atlantic Conference’s “Most
Outstanding Player” for 1975.
He was competing for the honor
with such “name” players as
Armstrong State all-Americans
Ike Williams and Sam Berry
and Valdosta State’s Kenny
Alston.
“It hurts! Oh, it hurts!” were
the only words an emotionally
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THI WT QIOtCIAN ATtH 4, H 7
rapidly becoming the Braves
jig stopper, collected his third
win of the year against Hope.
Davis has now personally ac
counted for half of the Braves
wins this year. He has lost only
once.
Following the game, White
said, “Our pitching is still
carrying the ballclub. We’ve
just got to start hitting the
ball.”
The coach added, “We have a
young team and a lot of players
are swinging their bats like
hey’re fluorescent lights and
they will break if they hit
something. I can’t say
something good when there is
nothing good to say,” White
said.
drained Edmonds could utter in
the Savannah Civic Center
locker room whose quiet was
broken only by a few muffled
sobs following the Braves’ 74-72
season ending loss to Arm
strong State in the conference
championship game.
“I have never regretted
coming to West Georgia,”
Edmonds said later. “The
students and the Carrollton
people are the greatest fans in
the world. The happiest
moment in my life was in
Kansas City last March, but I
had really hoped and believed
that we could do it again this
year. My shot against Valdosta
and Mag’s (Pat Magley) shot
against Armstrong (last second
shots that went in the basket,
but came back out to deny the
Braves victories) really make
you wonder if it was just not
meant to be this year,
somebody else’s turn.”
Dave Edmonds’ jersey will
not be retired, and he will
probably not make many all-
American teams, all because he
was simply not the kind of
athlete who draws attention to
himself.
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