NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of 5-star G VJ Edgecombe's final 3 teams
One of the top uncommitted NCAA Basketball prospects remaining in the 2024 recruiting class is VJ Edgecombe, a consensus five-star and top-10 overall player out of New York. He's a 6'5 guard/wing who's an elite athlete that can jump out of the gym. He's a good all-around scorer with two-way potential and has a high floor/ceiling as both a college and pro prospect.
Earlier in the recruitment, Edgecombe had 10 options, including the likes of Alabama, Michigan, and St. John's. In the end, only three teams are in the running to land him.
Which of the trio of teams makes the most potential sense? Here's a closer look at the pros and cons that Edgecombe has to consider.
Baylor Bears
Pros
The recent run of five-star talent that Coach Scott Drew has had is working well, with all of them going to the NBA or on the way there, including this season's freshmen, Yves Missi and Ja'Kobe Walter. Assuming that Walter is going pro, the Bears could use Edgecombe to replace him on the wing and get plenty of playing time.
It's not a guarantee that Duke and Kentucky could allow Edgecombe to even start, where that wouldn't be an issue at Baylor. Plus, the five-star target would play in the Big 12, which right now, is looking like the best conference in NCAA Basketball.
Cons
Although they have a recent national championship, Baylor still isn't on the same level nationally as Duke or Kentucky. And there's an extra boost a player gets at those teams that can benefit a player's brand when they're going pro. The Bears aren't even the biggest brand in the Big 12, as that distinction belongs to Kansas.
There's also a case that if you examine the three program's roster for the 2024-25 campaign, on paper, Baylor is a distance third compared to those teams, assuming the freshmen do leave. It's not the biggest deal but like many other recruitments involving Duke and Kentucky, Baylor is going to have a challenge to win Edgecombe over.