"She is still learning the game," DeMoss said. "She is basically trying to learn two positions, which is hard for a freshman. She could probably get more minutes at the four (power forward), which is where she's more accustomed to playing.
"But this is still a new game. The offenses and defenses are new. She is still thinking instead of just playing. But that's part of learning the game."
However, Edelen is not complaining about the learning curve.
She committed to Kentucky as a junior and never wavered in her desire to play for DeMoss.
"I had other schools recruiting me, but I wanted to be close to home. I knew coach DeMoss did a great job and I just knew I wanted to be part of her program," Edelen said. "Being part of this team is great. I love it here. Classes are kind of hectic. I had a class that had 500 people. My graduating class had maybe 160 people. It's a lot bigger here and you don't know everybody like I did back home.
"It has been a big adjustment getting used to the competition here and tempo of college basketball. I was the big dog in high school and a post player. I have to use my left hand here and play more on the perimeter. I am not the star. I am just a bit player."
Father is a Louisville fan
That reduced role has not bothered her.
"As long as I can come in a game and contribute whether it is with defense or just getting a steal or rebound or whatever I can do. I am not worried about scoring," Edelen said. "I don't feel like I have been overwhelmed, but I know my role and understand my job is just to learn how to fit in the right way."
Edelen had to convince her family that she could fit in at Kentucky considering that her father is a Louisville fan like many other friends in Washington County.
"I love playing for the Big Blue," she said. "My friends, and even some family members, might not be able to root for Kentucky all the time, but they will root for me. Even my dad now wears all blue. He's made a big turn."
Edelen says she was a basketball junkie and watched all kinds of basketball on TV when she was younger. Her favorite NBA player is Dwayne Wade. The female player she watched the most was Lisa Leslie.
"I am a physical player and play my hardest all the time," she said. "I learned that's how the great players play. Off the court I can smile and get along with about anybody. On the court, I won't be smiling a lot. That's probably not my best side, but that's how I play."
Edelen does have big ambitions, and not just for UK's team this year. She went to Hawaii with an all-star team in high school and calls it the "best nine days of my life." That's why she wants to live there and one day own a yacht.
"If you get the opportunity like this to come to a big university to play basketball on a full scholarship, then I think you can do just about anything you put your head to," she said.
"I can see myself living in Hawaii one day if I become a physical therapist like I am planning to. That would be my dream to have a yacht and live in Hawaii."
