Ex-Husky James Edwards: 'Wish We could Get Stewart in Detroit'
James Edwards was one of the Bad Boys, which means he always will be considered one of Detroit's good guys.
He was a central figure for the Pistons' 1989 and 1990 NBA championship teams, a 7-foot-1 center and power forward who was part of a fearless and physical group, hence the sinister but enduring nickname.
So when former teammate Vinnie Johnson, who owns multiple automotive businesses in the Motor City, called up Edwards and asked him to come work for him, it was a no-brainer.
It was bad boys, bad boys, whatcha going to do, whatcha going to do when they come for you?
A decade ago, Edwards packed up his things, left his Seattle hometown and moved back to the Motor City. He received a hero's welcome.
"Detroit is my second home," he said. "When I first got back here, it was like I never left. Everyone treated me with so much respect. They love the Bad Boys."
Today, Edwards holds a job in sales and marketing representing all of the different companies run by the enterprising Johnson, who at one time was a Seattle SuperSonics guard and still carries the nickname "Microwave."
Known as "Buddha" for his long gone Fu Manchu mustache and easy demeanor, Edwards stays heavily involved with the Pistons but he also keeps tabs on the Washington Huskies, his college basketball team.
"I see the games all the time; I get the Pac-12 channel," he said. "Everybody gives me a hard time about it."
While he's been as dismayed as anyone over the UW continuously blowing leads and games, Edwards is enthused about the prospects for Huskies' sensational freshman forward Isaiah Stewart.
"He'll be playing in the NBA soon," he said of the teenager who's expected to leave the college ranks after just one season. "He's a got a nice body. Moves real well. Jumps real well. I wish we could get him here. We need some help. I'll take him under my wing."
Coming out of Seattle's Roosevelt High, Edwards was a four-year starter for Washington from 1974 to 1977. He's probably one of the school's five greatest players, and along with Chris Welp one of the two best ones who hasn't had his jersey number (42) retired.
As a junior in 1976, he led the Huskies to a 14-0 start, No. 6 national ranking and into the NCAA tournament in a season that had near-miss written all over it. The team finished 23-5, losing three times by two points, once by five and the other by nine.
A Husky Hall of Fame inductee in 1990, Edwards was twice named to the All-Pac-8 first team and he had his best year as a senior, averaging 20.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He had a fallaway jumper that was near impossible to block.
"I remember those days playing in Hec Edmundson, living in the dorms and having a good time," he said.
Edwards, by far, rates as the UW's most successful NBA player, spending 19 seasons in the league. He teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the Los Angeles Lakers to begin his career and with Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls to complete the long journey. He won three NBA championships.
And he became a Bad Boy for life.