Syracuse basketball should pursue 4-star SF, player of year in elite NIBC

Without question, 2024 four-star small forward V.J. Edgecombe is one of the hottest prospects out there nationwide, and I’d love to see Syracuse basketball coaches get involved in his recruitment (if they haven’t already).

The 6-foot-5 Edgecombe, just a few days ago, was named the 2022-23 player of the year in the  National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”), a 10-team super league that includes top-flight independent basketball academies and prep-school squads.

Overwhelmingly, high-school hoops experts deem the NIBC as the top conference around the country, so for Edgecombe to receive this honor is tremendous. Edgecombe is a junior for one of the country’s best squads during the 2022-23 season, Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y.

Long Island Lutheran, by the way, is the No. 2 seed in the 2023 GEICO Nationals, an eight-team tournament that will ultimately crown a high-school national champion for the 2022-23 season. This year’s GEICO Nationals will take place from Thursday, March 30, until Saturday, April 1, at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Ft. Myers, Fla.

During NIBC play, Long Island Lutheran went 10-2 overall, checking in at No. 2 only behind the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., which is the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GEICO Nationals.

Syracuse basketball should get into the fray for 2024 four-star small forward V.J. Edgecombe.

In NIBC competition within the 2022-23 stanza, Edgecombe led the conference in scoring at 17.3 points per game. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest.

Edgecombe connected on 48.4. percent from the field and 76.6 percent from the free-throw line, while making nearly two 3-point field goals per affair.

All of the main recruiting services (247Sports, On3, Rivals.com and ESPN) rate him in the top 80 overall within the 2024 class, and Edgecombe continues to prove a fast-rising prospect on a national scale. He’s also deemed a top-20 small forward and a top-five player in the state of New York.

In mid-March, Edgecombe was named the 2022-23 Gatorade player of the year in New York. At this juncture, his scholarship offer sheet includes Villanova, Miami, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Georgia Tech, among others.

I have the utmost confidence that his list of offers is going to expand – and rather quickly. To date, Syracuse basketball has one verbal commitment in the junior cycle, from four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore out of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff, led by new boss Adrian Autry, is targeting several other talented 2024 prospects, including five-star point guard Boogie Fland, four-star big man Donnie Freeman, four-star guard Jalil Bethea and four-star big man Thomas Sorber, among others.

As I noted earlier, I’d love to see V.J. Edgecombe emerge as a recruiting target for Autry and his assistants in the junior class. He has had a tremendous 2022-23 term for Long Island Lutheran, which by the way is the new home of Syracuse basketball 2025 four-star target Kiyan Anthony.