Tag: Baylor Basketball

Baylor adds another 5-star guard as Scott Drew keeps reloading

The Baylor Bears have had three straight five-star guards come to Waco, and V.J. Edgecombe’s commitment should give them a fourth in 2024.

The Baylor Bears picked up a five-star guard prospect for the fourth straight year, with V.J. Edgecombe announcing his commitment to Scott Drew’s program on Sunday evening.

Edgecombe, a 6’5 senior in the class of 2024, picked Baylor over Duke and Kentucky and said he had a deep connection with the program and coach Drew.

“Baylor has a winning culture, a great staff and head coach. Coach Drew is a genuine person; he has built an incredible program,” he told ESPN. “There was a deep connection with Baylor. They have a strong foundation of faith, and there was also a spiritual connection. That was important to me.”

It doesn’t hurt that Baylor’s recent track record with high level guards is elite. Keyontae George was the No. 6 ranked player in 2022 and after one excellent year in Waco he was picked in the first round and is having a successful rookie campaign with the Utah Jazz.

Ja’Kobe Walter was the No. 8 ranked player in 2023 and he is currently performing like one of the best players in the entire country and could easily find himself selected in the top 10, if not top five, of the 2024 NBA draft.

Edgecombe could be the next great Baylor one-and-done guard. His 6’5 frame makes him a powerful athlete and an elite finisher around the rim. He’s improved as an outside shooter and as a playmaker, and there is little doubt Drew’s system will be a great fit for the Long Island native.

Edgecombe joins Jason Asemota and Robert Wright III in Baylor’s 2024 recruiting class, which is now ranked No. 5 in the country at 247Sports.

Could Duke basketball be close to adding another 5-star in the 2024 class?

V.J. Edgecombe is set to make his college announcement on Sunday.

V.J. Edgecombe has announced that he will commit this weekend, putting an end to the recruitment of one of the nation’s top guards. And Duke basketball is perceived to be the favorite in the race to land Edgecombe.

A five-star guard from Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, New York), Edgecombe announced that he will be making his announcement on Sunday night. The announcement will be aired on ESPN2 and is scheduled for at halftime of the Hoophall Classic game between Montverde and Prolific Prep.

The final three are slated to be Baylor, Duke and Kentucky.

A 6-foot-4 prospect, Edgecombe is the second-highest ranked combo guard in the nation behind Dylan Harper (a Rutgers basketball commit). He is the No. 5 recruit in the nation according to ESPN.

If Edgecombe ends up at Duke, it would be the likely cap to a recruiting class that is truly tremendous. His commitment would give the Duke class, which currently has six commitments, a total of five players ranked as five-star recruits.

Duke would also join Rutgers with two commitments from top-five players in the class. Rutgers has the aforementioned Harper as well as five-star forward Airious ‘Ace’ Bailey in this class.

Harper just returned from injury on Friday night and scored 21 points for Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey).

 

2024 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Projecting the first round with Ja’Kobe Walter leading the way

The 2023 NBA Draft is challenging to predict but that won’t stop us from trying.

The 2024 NBA Draft is a genuinely challenging class to predict but that isn’t going to stop us from trying.

At this point in the season, there aren’t many players who have separated themselves as “can’t miss” prospects. Similarly, many players have clumped together in a similar tier and it is hard to differentiate much between many of those names.

If you’re into uncertainty and like the thrill of the unexpected, this is a fun group of players to evaluate because anything can happen and lots can (and will) change. But for those who want something more clear-cut, this process may become more frustrating.

Our mock draft looks different than some others around the industry and we expect that to remain true until the draft happens. Lots of factors will weigh into how teams evaluate these prospects and so that makes predictions even more hard to pinpoint than usual. While there is a lot we have learned, there is lots more to learn as well.

Unless noted otherwise, all data outside of the NCAA was pulled from our friends at Cerebro Sports — you can create a free account to evaluate player performance across all levels globally.

Our order was determined based on expected wins averaged out from ESPN, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. The teams outside the top eight in each conference were considered lottery squads. Trades were pulled from this database at RealGM.

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Early signing period: Tre Johnson, a 5-star guard from Texas, announces his top two schools

Tre Johnson has narrowed his recruitment down to two schools.

Tre Johnson remains one of the top uncommitted high school basketball players in the nation, but it appears that the five-star guard has honed in on a final two.

And while a number of top players have already signed in this class, what with the early signing period having started on Wednesday, Johnson has yet to give a verbal. It makes for an intriguing recruitment, as it appears that two schools in Texas have distanced themselves from the pack in Johnson’s recruitment.

A 6-foot-6 guard from Link Academy (Dallas, Texas), Johnson is one of the top players in the nation and is ranked the fifth-best recruit in the 2024 class by 247Sports.

“I’m down to Baylor and Texas right now,” Johnson said according to Sports Illustrated. “I’m just trying to get a feel of it, trying to see different games, see their style of play and see different guys on their teams that could be me in that position.”

He is the second-highest ranked recruit who is uncommitted. The highest-ranked recruit withot giving a verbal is five-star guard Dylan Harper from Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey).

According to Adam Zagoria (of Zags Blog and NJ Advanced Media) there is no indication of if the-five star will be signing with a team over the next week.

The early signing period will conclude on Nov. 15.

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Gallery: The best images from Auburn’s 88-82 loss vs. Baylor

The best photos from Auburn’s 88-82 loss to Baylor

The Auburn Tigers opened up the season in disappointing fashion, losing to the No. 17 Baylor Bears, 88-82 after leading the game for most of the way.

Baylor finished on a 16-5 run over the game’s final four minutes, ultimately stealing a win in Sioux Falls, ND.

Freshman [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] was fantastic in his first game as a Tiger, scoring a team-high 19 points in the opener.

Big 12 preseason freshman of the year Ja’Kobe Walter led the way for the Bears with a game-high 28 points on an efficient 7/13 from the field and 10/10 from the free throw line.

Here are some of the best photos from Auburn’s tough loss.

Recap: Auburn blows late lead, loses to No. 17 Baylor

The Auburn Tigers opened up the basketball season against the Baylor Bears on Tuesday, losing a heartbreaker in Sioux Falls, 88-82.

The Auburn Tigers will have to wait a little longer to enter the win column in the 2023-2024 season after losing to the Baylor Bears in Sioux Falls, ND, 88-82 on Tuesday.

[autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s squad looked like the better team for the first 35 minutes of this game, leading by as many as 9 points in the opener.

Things fell apart for the Tigers after the under-four media timeout, as No. 17 Baylor ended the game on a 16-5 run to overtake Auburn in the end.

Big 12 preseason freshman of the year Ja’Kobe Walter led the way for Baylor, scoring 28 points on a very efficient 7/13 from the field. The newcomer was also unfazed at the free throw line, converting all 10 of his attempts.

Four other Bears scored in double figures in the win, as RayJ Dennis (15) Jalen Bridges (13), Langston Love (10), and Yves Missi (10) were all major contributors in the win.

Freshmen [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] led the way for Auburn. The five-star recruit played the second most minutes on the team (26) despite coming off the bench.

Holloway finished his night with a team-high 19 points, 6 assists, and three rebounds. He also turned the ball over 3 times, including twice in the game’s final minutes.

Forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] fouled out in the game’s final seconds but was able to record his first double-double of the season in a 16-point, 11-rebound effort.

Starting guard and FIU transfer [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] added 13 points on 4/10 shooting, while Northwest Florida State College (JUCO) transfer [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] was effective in only 12 minutes, gathering two steals and scoring 7 points.

The result is obviously disappointing, especially to start the season, for a team that seemingly had this game in the bag.

Still, it’s important to note this Auburn team has 3 new starters and plenty more new Tigers in [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s rotation this season. Going toe-to-toe with the 17th-ranked team in the nation is a solid start to build on, even if it is disappointing.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Texas Basketball: Looking at the biggest games of the 2023-24 season

Texas has exciting matchups in basketball heading into the upcoming season.

The Texas basketball season is under a month away. The Longhorns will look to match last season’s terrific results after reaching the regional finals of their bracket.

This team is going to look different. While Dylan Disu, Dillon Mitchell, Tyrese Hunter and Brock Cunningham are among last season’s contributors, more than half of the team’s most integral players from last season are gone.

Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas and Virginia forward Kadin Shedrick stand as the big headliners from the Longhorns’ portal class. After averaging over 21 points and four assists last season, expect Abmas to be a major part of this year’s team.

The Longhorns are going to face several big matchups in the 2023-24 season. Here’s a look at some of the team’s biggest games.

Time, TV Network set for Auburn men’s basketball’s season opener vs. Baylor

Who is excited to watch Auburn basketball this season?

The Auburn men’s basketball team’s quest to get back to the NCAA tournament will begin in just over a month, when they take on the Baylor Bears on Nov. 7 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The neutral site game, which tips off at 8 p.m. CST, will air on ESPN.

Both of these teams will open the season away from home for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.

Auburn participated in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, FL that year, beating Saint Joseph’s in their opener before losing to Gonzaga. [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s team ended up missing the postseason that year.

Baylor opened the season at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 2020, beating Louisiana and Washington. The Bears would go on to defeat Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament Championship game.

Auburn currently ranks 24th in the Athletic’s preseason top-25 while Baylor ranks 10th.

Despite the preseason hype, Auburn won’t play on ESPN’s flagship channel again until they take on USC in the Rocket City Classic on December 17.

Most of Baylor’s games will be televised on ESPN+ due to the Big 12’s deal with the network, but they will return to ESPN on November 24th when they take on the winner/loser of Pitt or Florida in the NIT Tip-Off.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Two potential Texas basketball targets enter the transfer portal

Baylor’s LJ Cryer and Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas announced their intentions to transfer on Monday. 

High profile names continue to enter the college basketball transfer portal looking for new homes next season. Baylor’s LJ Cryer and Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas announced their intentions to transfer on Monday.

With Texas potentially losing its three most productive guards, it would make sense for Rodney Terry and his staff to look into Cryer and Abmas.

Texas is familiar with Cryer’s game as a conference rival during his time at Baylor. The third-team All-Big 12 guard is known for his sharpshooting behind the three-point line, helping him average 15 points per game this season. In addition, Cryer possesses premium experience as a three-year player and national champion.

Abmas is one of the top scoring options in the transfer portal to date. The 2021 NCAA Tournament star has averaged over 20 points per game in each of his last three seasons at Oral Roberts. The Rockwall product could have an interest in returning to the state of Texas.

Texas has shown they are not afraid to go big game hunting in the transfer portal over the past few offseasons and do not expect that trend to change this time around.

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Top ranked 2024 shooting guard Tre Johnson speaks on his top schools

Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas are standing out to the nation’s top prospect.

Five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson is at the top of the recruiting board for many premier programs across the nation. Continue reading “Top ranked 2024 shooting guard Tre Johnson speaks on his top schools”