VJ Edgecombe poses for a photo during Media Day at the McDonald's All-American Game on March 29, ... [+]
After Bahamas native VJ Edgecombe scored 30 points against powerhouse Mater Dei High at the 2023 HoopFest in Paradise, his high school held a dinner on the island.
With his family in attendance, Edgecombe formally announced he would be donating some of his name, image and likeness (NIL) money back to Gateway Christian Academy, the school he attended before coming to the United States in 2020.
“That was a really cool moment,” said John Buck, Edgecombe’s basketball coach and head of school at Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School (LuHi).
Edgecombe will use some of the money he will receive while playing for Baylor in 2024 to pay the tuition at Gateway Christian, which costs between $1,800 and $2,200 per year, for three students at the preschool-12th grade school in Bimini, Bahamas.
“I just want to give back to all the kids that don’t have it financially,” Edgecombe exclusively shared. “I just want to show love to my island because they’re the reason I’m here today.”
That initial dose of generosity is likely just the start for VJ — short for Valdez Junior. The third best recruit in the 2024 class, according to ESPN, plans to further donate to the school he attended from 2017 to 2022.
“He is an exceptional kid,” said Pastor Gilbert Rolle Jr, the principal at Gateway Christian who also coached him.
Edgecombe’s path from the Bahamas to the United States was paved while still living in Bimini.
Edgecombe played on the AAU circuit as a sophomore for a team called Southeast Elite, which has since been renamed Austin Rivers Southeast Elite, in Florida.
That led to him enrolling in the fall of 2022 as a junior year at LuHi, whose basketball staff has a good relationship with Austin Rivers Southeast Elite head coach Anthony Ricks.
“I just moved here for a better education to try to,” Edgecombe said, “go to college for free where my mom don’t have to pay.”
His mom, Bendra Rolle, who is not related to Pastor Rolle, works as a TSA agent in the Bahamas, but she used to be a track star.
Edgecombe clearly inherited some of her speed.
VJ Edgecombe participates in the dunk contest as part of the McDonald's All-American Game ... [+]
Edgecombe possesses superb vertical explosion, straight-ahead speed, lateral quickness and a second jump that’s often faster than an opponent’s first.
“He can make so many things happen with his athleticism,” Buck said.
Edgecombe memorably displayed that athleticism during the third game of his junior year. He blocked IMG Academy’s Indiana-bound Bryson Tucker dunk at the rim.
A few weeks later on a fast break, he dunked over future Kentucky star Justin Edwards, who was then playing for Institute Charter High, in the Jordan Holiday Classic in the Bronx.
“He finished that play,” Buck said, “and kind of brought the gym to its feet.”
The LuHi program soon became used to such highlights.
Edgecombe brought his high-flying play to the highest stage, earning roster invites to the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.
In the latter game — despite being just 6-4 — the 185 pounder led the victorious Team Flight squad with 10 rebounds. After snaring the final rebound of the contest, he made the game-winning assist to Rutgers-bound Dylan Harper.
Alongside another star from that game, Rob Wright, Edgecombe will enroll at Baylor, a likely preseason top five team, next season. Slated to join them via the transfer portal are former Duke guard Jeremy Roach and former Miami big man Norchad Omier.
Waco, Texas, will be a long way from his native Bahamas, but his friends and family got to see him up close last December.
As part of the HoopFest in Paradise, LuHi scheduled the two games in the Bahamas as a homecoming for Edgecombe.
“We’re very proud of him,” Pastor Rolle said. “Now he’s able to help kids, and that’s how you move forward as a community, as a country and as a people.”
