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From YahooSports re McDonalds AA preview:

Edgecombe was one of the biggest risers in the senior class, going from a top-80 player to a five-star prospect and McDonald's All American within a year. He chose Baylor over Duke, Alabama and Kentucky and will most likely be filling Ja'Kobe Walter's role next season as Walter is expected to leave for the NBA. Edgecombe is a player who first got recognition for being an incredible athlete, but he has started to put together a complete game. He was splitting defenses off the wing, weaving passes in transition and showing creativity with his shot selection. He's also really quick off the dibble and strong enough to finish through contact.

Baylor commit VJ Edgecombe is so quick off the dribble and for a player who relied a lot on his athleticism last year, he's really made strides in his shot creation and improved his footwork. He's going to fit in so well in Scott Drew's system next year. pic.twitter.com/CxZRTqTKUT

Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) March 31, 2024

It is interesting that Edgecombe was basically a good player likely to develop in Baylor's system when recruited, and now is very likely a one and done going into the season.

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VJ Edgecombe (No. 5), Baylor - At least during Sunday morning's practice, Edgecombe was a pretty clear standout. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard headed to Baylor sure looked the part of the top ranked two guard in the class. He made one deep three after another, got to the rim to finish with authority and did it all with great pace and total command. He probed the defense without over dribbling, made decisive decisions and he's an elite cutter which leads to him getting really clean looks. He is next in line up in Waco

I have been excited for our other McDonald's all-American but this guy is going to be something for us

He is crazy athletic

Damn, that is impressive! I can't do that on my office nerf hoop at 7 feet.

Meet the 2024 McDonald’s All-Americans, starring Cooper Flagg in a loaded class https://t.co/QPvjNnCQ0z

— SB Nation (@SBNation) April 2, 2024

V. J. Edgecombe is a hyper-athletic two guard out of The Bahamas who will go from playing in Brooklyn to arriving at Baylor next year as a freshman. He plays with an undeniable physical edge that translates into an aggressive style on both ends of the floor.


At 6'5, Edgecombe currently projects as an off-ball guard who will relentlessly attack downhill on offense, and provide ball pressure and force takeaways defensively. With a strong frame and a quick first step, he can force his way to the basket and shows off excellent body control on his finishes. There were multiple instances in the scrimmage where he turned defense into instant offense. Here's a nice compilation of his top plays from the scrimmage.

Much more athletic than Walter and not particularly close. Will be interesting to see how his skills develop as his freshman year progresses. We might be a team that peaks more towards the end of conference.

5⭐️’s VJ Edgecombe and Dylan Harper are putting on a SHOW 🤩‼️@vj_edgecombe | @dy1anharper pic.twitter.com/VIS3kJKnh6

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) April 3, 2024

VJ Edgecombe’s defensive upside is insane. He has some amazing hands and shot-blocking ability. He’s a special prospect.

Genuinely has top 3 upside for that 2025 draft class. After Flagg and Ace, he’s right there.

— mohamed (@mcfxz) April 3, 2024

2024 VJ Edgecombe @McDAAG is showcasing his ability to be a versatile player next year. Excellent athleticism, blocking shots, playing with energy on both ends, and finishing at the rim. He is going to be able to make his impact felt in a variety of ways at #Baylor #PhenomHoops pic.twitter.com/H7lzYAkQPq

— Patrick O'Brien (@POBScout) April 3, 2024

VJ Edgecombe is Anthony Edwards with better passing and all-NBA level defense

— steve oh (@stvn_oh) April 3, 2024

VJ Edgecombe is going to be insane at Baylor

— soup lover (@Thatguy3590) April 3, 2024

VJ Edgecombe like that…can wait to see him at Baylor

— Ikie Calderon (@ikiecalderon) April 3, 2024

Big12Fan2024 said:

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Everybody ready to make 18 year old underdeveloped kids ready for the NBA until they play their first college game and get posted up by a 23 year old fully developed and mature senior who makes him look like a JV high school kid. I keep hearing about peaking later but I've seen two consecutive years where it wasn't much better at the end than it was at the start of the year. Maybe this one will be different. We will see.

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Peaking later usually means years later. Look at Sochan now. He'd be finishing his junior season in the old days. Yes, an 18-year old might have a bad game against a 23-year old who's still in college, but once that 18-year old is 23, he'll be light years ahead of where the college player was.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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Big12Fan2024 said:

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Everybody ready to make 18 year old underdeveloped kids ready for the NBA until they play their first college game and get posted up by a 23 year old fully developed and mature senior who makes him look like a JV high school kid. I keep hearing about peaking later but I've seen two consecutive years where it wasn't much better at the end than it was at the start of the year. Maybe this one will be different. We will see.

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Peaking later usually means years later. Look at Sochan now. He'd be finishing his junior season in the old days. Yes, an 18-year old might have a bad game against a 23-year old who's still in college, but once that 18-year old is 23, he'll be light years ahead of where the college player was.

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I was referring to continued comments about how our team will be automatically be better and peak by the end of the year. I heard the same thing from friends the past two years and we were sitting at home once again after the Round of 32 with no appreciable change from the beginning of the year until the end. Keyonte, JaKobe and VJ will all be great pros, at least I'm hoping that for them. But that doesn't mean a hill of beans for Baylor advancing in the NCAA tournament past the Round of 32 for the first time in 4 years which is what I'm more interested in. So when I see comments in the tweets above implying VJ is gonna single handedly make Baylor some unbeatable team next just because he looks great against other physically immature 18 year olds in a McDonald's HS game, it reminds me of all the other promises of not only him but most HS 5 stars and what they actually contribute during their 1 year vs. what everyone thinks they are going to contribute.

No one is saying he's going to make Baylor unbeatable. Where do you see that?

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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No one is saying he's going to make Baylor unbeatable. Where do you see that?

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Because of the playing time and usage we're committing to him, we'll need Edgecombe to be a star to achieve anything of significance next year -- just as we needed Keyonte George and Ja'Kobe Walter to be each of the past two years. Are you prepared to demand or expect that level of performance from him? Doubtful. And I don't blame you.

But if/when he does play like a freshman and our ceiling turns out to be that of a team led in multiple usage stats by a freshman, I hope more people wake up to what does and does not win in college basketball.

bear2be2 said:

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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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No one is saying he's going to make Baylor unbeatable. Where do you see that?

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Because of the playing time and usage we're committing to him, we'll need Edgecombe to be a star to achieve anything of significance next year -- just as we needed Keyonte George and Ja'Kobe Walter to be each of the past two years. Are you prepared to demand or expect that level of performance? I'm not.

And if/when he does play like a freshman and our ceiling turns out to be that of a team led by in multiple usage stats by a freshman, I hope more people wake up to what does and does not win in college basketball.

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Everyone knows your stance. You say it every ****ing post. And the second Edgecomb has a bad game, you'll be the first to say "y'all didn't believe me but I told you so." It's like you're more interested about being right and having the team fail than watching them succeed. We've had those posters for years. I know you support the team, but you also have an "I know more than everyone else here" vibe.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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bear2be2 said:

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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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No one is saying he's going to make Baylor unbeatable. Where do you see that?

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Because of the playing time and usage we're committing to him, we'll need Edgecombe to be a star to achieve anything of significance next year -- just as we needed Keyonte George and Ja'Kobe Walter to be each of the past two years. Are you prepared to demand or expect that level of performance? I'm not.

And if/when he does play like a freshman and our ceiling turns out to be that of a team led by in multiple usage stats by a freshman, I hope more people wake up to what does and does not win in college basketball.

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Everyone knows your stance. You say it every ****ing post. And the second Edgecomb has a bad game, you'll be the first to say "y'all didn't believe me but I told you so." It's like you're more interested about being right and having the team fail than watching them succeed. We've had those posters for years. I know you support the team, but you also have an "I know more than everyone else here" vibe.

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I would much rather not be right. But we have thousands of college basketball games the past decade-plus that suggest I am. And as someone who values data, I'm not going to delude myself into believing something experience and reason tells me isn't at all likely.

If you wish to do so, be my guest. It's not about being right. It's about wanting a championship level program to cheer for. And we've abandoned the things championship programs are currently doing in our roster-building and player-usage models.

I'm tired of playing it back with the same failed strategy year after year. Hopefully, everyone (including CSD) will be after one more early exit next winter.

Why do you not say the same things about any of our upperclassmen who transfer in? That they have to be stars or our season will be a bust and they will be to blame? A round of 32 exit is relatively disappointing, but it's bizarre how much you focus on scapegoating the freshmen every year...when basketball is a team game and some our upperclassmen and transfers also didn't live up to expectations.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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Why do you not say the same things about any of our upperclassmen who transfer in? That they have to be stars or our season will be a bust and they will be to blame? A round of 32 exit is relatively disappointing, but it's bizarre how much you focus on scapegoating the freshmen every year...when basketball is a team game and some our upperclassmen and transfers also didn't live up to expectations.

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Because other than RayJ Dennis, none of the upperclassmen came with the same level of expectation or playing time/usage commitment that our one-and-done freshmen have. And as much as I like RayJ's game, I've been vocal about not liking one-year transfers for the same reasons I don't like one-and-dones.

But guys like Bridges, Lohner, Nunn, etc., were brought in to fill very specific roles and none were expected to be stars. And if you don't think I've criticized those guys when there was good reason to, you haven't paid attention to my posting history.

But like I said in the other thread, those guys don't need excuses made for them. When they fail, they just fail. We don't have to manufacture a laundry list of reasons why they can't adequately fill the roles we need them to fill to be a championship team. They either fill them or they get benched/replaced, something that will never happen with a five-star freshman.

Only saw the last quarter. VJ had a quick baseline move where he blew by his defender. Granted the defense in these games is never a big focus, but he looked really good on the drive. He had a play at the top of the key late with a turnover that basically cost his team the W. He was double teamed and probably took one too many dribbles. He looked very fluid, that kind of effortless appearance you see from the greats. His build reminds me a lot of Jordan. Crazy athletic. He played the entire 4th from what I saw, which is a good sign.
I will say I was really impressed with Tre Johnson as well. I didn't realize he was 6'6. Great stroke and looks very polished.