The only DeMatha graduate to play for John Thompson, Mark Edwards was a key contributor on three Georgetown teams of the early 1970's.

Born in Washington and raised in Georgetown, Edwards was a starter on two of DeMatha's championship teams of the late 1960's, with a memorable effort in 1969 filling in for All-American James Brown in DeMatha' Knights of Columbus tournament win over McKinley Tech. Recruited by the University of San Francisco and Texas, Edwards opted to stay close to home and marked Jack Magee's biggest local signing to date at Georgetown, and only the second African-American recruit ever signed by the University.

As a freshman at Georgetown, Edwards averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds a game, with a 22 point, 19 rebound effort against George Washington that gave the Hoyas high hopes for his varsity tenure. "In an area which boasts the scholastic development of Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing, Austin Carr, and many others," read the 1970-71 Georgetown media guide, "Edwards could become one of the best ever at Georgetown."

A reserve for much of his sophomore season, Edwards shot 40 percent from the floor and finished fourth on the team in rebounds in 1970-71. As a starting forward in 1971-72, Edwards played in all 26 games that season and finished third in scoring (10.8 ppg) and second in rebounds (6.9 rpg). By his senior season, the move to John Thompson as coach heralded a youth movement, and Edwards moved to the bench in a reserve role behind sophomore mark Gallagher and freshman Greg Brooks, averaging 3.2 points in 26 games.

Thompson took the opportunity in The HOYA to publicly thank Edwards for staying with the team, but the issue of Thompson's relationship as a high school coach with DeMatha never really went away.

"The first thing John said to me when he got to Georgetown was that he wouldn't hold it against me that I went to DeMatha," Edwards told the Washington City Paper in 2007. "Once John got to Georgetown, he turned the program into this urban legend, where any kid from any urban area wanted to play there. But I do think John thought that any of Morgan's players who said they wanted to play for him were lying. Still, overall, I really think John, like any coach, just wanted players that would fit his style, and he never felt a DeMatha player did."

"I'm blessed to say I played for two Hall of Fame coaches," Edwards added. "How many players can say that?"