Duncanville boys basketball coach David Peavy sat down star shooting guard Kayden “Bugg” Edwards and listed examples of elite players who had gone through the storied program.
The particular names he mentioned were unfamiliar.
“Because they never won a championship,” Peavy said. “But all the kids who were champions that were good players — they have all heard their name.”
Add Edwards to the list of Duncanville players future generations will remember. The four-star TCU signee averaged 25 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals for 6A Division I state champion Duncanville, which won its sixth UIL state title with a 54-52 victory over Houston Bellaire.
Edwards, named MVP of the 6A state championship game, scored a team-high 23 points in the win and added six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
A member of Duncanville’s 2022 state championship team that saw its UIL state title stripped, the 2023 roster that skipped the postseason to avoid UIL sanctions and the 2024 group that left the playoffs in the second round, Edwards looked visibly emotional after the close win over Bellaire.
“Whenever you win state, it’s like a big weight just falls off your shoulders,” Edwards said. “This is my senior year. People were still doubting us and I felt like if we lost, it was just going to be all my fault.”
Along with winning a state title, Edwards finished the regular season with the highest scoring average in the Dallas area and was named MVP of District 11-6A.
In each of the 33 games the 6-3 guard played in this season, Edwards scored in double figures. He dropped 30 or more points nine times, recording a season-high 45 points against Oak Ridge (Fla.) in December.
Edwards is a killer on offense, but that’s not all Peavy will remember about him.
“He’s always happy. Walks around with a smile. He’s a jokester. He doesn’t leave us alone at all,” Peavy said.
Edwards spent the first half of his high school career sitting behind elite talents in players such as Anthony Black and Ron Holland, both five-star prospects and McDonald’s All Americans who became NBA draft picks.
As a junior, he stepped up to lead a Duncanville program that a year prior had its title stripped and, while foregoing the UIL postseason to avoid further sanctions, had won a mythical national championship. The 2022-23 Duncanville squad graduated several seniors who went on to play college or professional basketball.
“It was very uncomfortable for him,” Peavy said. “He came from, as a sophomore, having all those seniors that were alphas. He was just a little brother. And then as a junior, we just expected him to take that role.”
Wired to score and nicknamed “Bugg” by his father because he was always on the move as a young child, Edwards posted elite numbers last season. The quick-footed McDonald’s All American nominee averaged 23.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, picking up District 11-6A co-MVP, first team all-area and TABC all-state honors after last season.
But he admits he wasn’t ready to lead Duncanville to the promised land yet. He worked on the little things to grow in that area.
“On the floor, just being more vocal,” Edwards said. “Off the floor, being where I’m supposed to be. Doing good in school. ‘Yes ma’am, No ma’am. Yes sir, No sir.’”
To improve his on-court performance, he’s put countless hours of work in the gym with his father, who along with Edwards’ mother, played college basketball at Bethune-Cookman.
Just days after winning a state title, Edwards was already back in the gym.
“My phone’s been blowing up, different posts here and there. A lot of congratulations,” Edwards said. “People don’t want me to get the big head … so now I’m just back at it.”
Rated the sixth best player in Texas and the 11th-best shooting guard in the nation in the Class of 2025, Edwards wants to prepare himself for the Big 12, one of the best conferences in college hoops.
TCU’s location allows him to be close to home and indulge in one of his favorite non-basketball pastimes.
“I like rodeos, like cowboy-type stuff,” Edwards said. “I love riding horses.”
To close out his Duncanville career, he rode into the sunset as part of a special fraternity.
“‘Bugg, do you want to go down as one of the best scorers or do you want to go down as a champion?’” Peavy said. “That was big for him and that’s why he was so emotional after winning it.”
More All-Area awards
— 2024-25 all-area boys basketball Player of the Year: Duncanville’s Kayden “Bugg” Edwards
— 2024-25 All-area boys basketball: Coach and Newcomer of the Year
— 2024-25 all-area boys basketball: Meet the best players in Dallas
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