Long Island Lutheran's VJ Edgecombe among three finalists for Gatorade national player of the year
Long Island Lutheran's VJ Edgecombe. Credit: Hans Pennink
The honors are rolling in for Long Island Lutheran star VJ Edgecombe.
The 6-5 guard and Baylor commit was named one of three finalists for the 2023-24 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award on Thursday. Edgecombe also took home Gatorade New York Player of the Year honors for the second straight year.
Edgecombe joins Montverde Academy (Florida) forward Cooper Flagg, a Duke commit, and McEachern (Georgia) forward Airious "Ace" Bailey, a Rutgers commit as finalists. All three were selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game on April 2.
Playing against some of the best programs across the nation, Edgecombe averaged 15.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.7 steals in 12 EYBL Scholastic conference games this season. Long Island Lutheran (21-4) is ranked second nationally in ESPN’s SCNext Top 25.
Edgecombe will take center stage at the Chipotle Nationals (formerly known as GEICO Nationals) in Brownsburg, Indiana, on April 4, when the fourth-seeded Crusaders face fifth-seeded Columbus (Florida) in the quarterfinals.
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.